THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


\\ 


GENERAL  HISTORY 


BY 


PHILIP  VAN  NESS  MYERS 

HONORARY  LECTURER    IN    HISTORY  IN   THE    UNIVERSITY  OF  CINCINNATI 

AUTHOR  OF  "ANCIENT   HISTORY,"  "MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN 

HISTORY,"    "HISTORY    AS    PAST   ETHICS,"    ETC. 


SECOND  REVISED  ED  IT/ ON 


GINN  AND,  COMPANY 

liOSTON     •     NEW   YORK     •     CHICAGO     •     LONDON 
ATLANTA    •     DALLAS    •     COLUMBUS    •     SAN   FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGHT,  1SS9,  1906,  1917,  1921,  BY  PHILIP  VAX  NKSS  MYKKS 

ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS*  HALL 

ALL    RIi;HTS    RESERVED 

821.8 


I, INN'   AND   tllMI'ANV  ■  I'KO 
PKIIJTDKS  •  li(»SI()N  •  I'.S.A. 


PREFACE   TO   THE   SECOND    REVISED    EDITION 

The  present  work  is  the  second  revised  edition  of  my  "  General 
History,"  the  first  edition  of  which  was  published  thirty-two  years 
ago.  The  original  text  of  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  periods  has 
here  been  severely  compressed  in  order  to  make  room  for  a 
fuller  treatment  of  the  history  of  modern  times.  A  fresh  chapter 
is  devoted  to  the  World  War  and  the  work  of  the  Paris  Peace 
Conference. 

P.V.N.M. 

College  IIell,  Cincinnati 


978173 


The  real  history  of  the  human  race  is  the  history  of  tendencies  which 
are  perceived  by  the  mind,  and  not  of  events  which  are  discovered  by 
the  senses. —  Buckle 


Historical  facts  should  not  be  a  burden  to  the  memory  but  an  illumi- 
nation of  the  soul. — Lord  Acton 


But  history  ought  surely  in  some  degree,  if  it  is  worth  anything,  to 
anticipate  the  lessons  of  time.  We  shall  no  doubt  be  wise  after  the 
event ;  we  study  history  that  we  may  be  wise  before  the  event. —  Seeley 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  ^^'^^ 

I.  General  Introduction:  Prehistoric  Times     ....  i 

PART  I.    ANCIENT  HISTORY 
DIVISION  I.    THE  EASTERX  XA  TIOXS 

II.  Races  and  Groups  of  Peoples 12 

III.  Ancient  Egypt '5 

I.  Political  History 15 

II.  Religion,  Arts,  and  General  Culture 18 

IV.  Babylonia  and  Assyria 24 

I.  The  Early  City-Kingdoms  of   Babylonia  and   the  Old 

Babylonian  Empire 24 

II.  The  Assyrian  Empire          29 

III.  The  Chaldean  or  New  Babylonian  Empire  (625-38  B.C.)  33 

V.  The  Hebrews 35 

VI.  The  Phcenicians 39 

\'II.  The  Persian  Empire  (558-330  B.C.)    ........  42 

VIII.  The  East  Asi.a.n  Peoples 47 

I.  India 47 

II.  China 49 

DIVISION  I L    GREECE 

IX.  The  Land  and  the  People 52 

X.  Greek  Legends;  THE  y^GEAN  Civilization 57 

XI.  The  Heritage  of  the  Historic  Greeks 62 

XII.  The  Growth  of  Sparta 69 

XIII.  The  Age  of  Colonization  and  of  Tyrannies    .     ■     •     •  73 

I.  The  Age  of  Colonization  (about  750-600  n.c.)      ...  73 

II.  The  Tyrannies  (about  650-500  li.c.) 77 

V 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAJ'TKR  I'\r,F. 

XIV.  Tiuc  HisTOKV  OF  AniK.NS  I'l-  TO  Till':  1'i;k.si.\.\  Wars.  79 

XV.  Thk  Persian  Wars  (500-479  h.c.) 85 

XVI.  TnK  Athenian  E.mitkI'; 92 

X\'II.  The    Peloponnesian  War;    tiii-:    Spartan    and  tiii-. 

Theban  Supre.mac'V 98 

I.  The  Peloponnesian  War  (431-404  u.c.)      ....  98 

II.  The  Spartan  and  the  Theban  Sii]>iemacy  ....  105 

XVIII.  Alexander  the  Great (336-323  r..(  .) 109 

XIX.  The  Gr/Eco-Orientau  World  from  the  Death  of 
Alexander  to  the  Conquest  of  (iRi:i:(E  hv  thi-. 

Romans  (323- 146 H.c.) 115 

XX.  Greek  Architecti'ri:,  Sculpture,  and  I'AiNiiNf;  iig 

I.  Architecture i  19 

II.   Sculpture  and  Painting 123 

XXI.  Greek  Literaturic 127 

XXII.  Greek  Philosophv  and  Science 134 

XXIII.  Social  Life  of  the  Greeks 141 

DJl'ISIOX  III.   ROME 

XXIV.  Italy  and  its  Early  Inhabitants 146 

XXV.  Roman  Institutions;  Rome  under  the  Kincs  150 

I.   Society  and  Ciovernment I  50 

II.   Relif,non 1 54 

III.    Rome  under  tlie  Kinp;s  (lej^endary  date  753-509  u.c)     157 

XXVI.  The  Early   Ki:pi  p.lic  ;    I'licp.kians  p.eco.me  Chize.vs 

WITH  Full  Rich  is  (509-367  h.c.)        159 

XXVII.  The  Conquest  and  Unification  of  Italy  (367- 

264  B.  c.) 166 

XXVIII.   Expansion  OF  Rome  BEYOND  Tin:  Pi'.NixsuLA     .     .     .  172 

I.  The  First  Punic  War  (264-241  n.<  .) 172 

II.  The  Second  Punic  War  (218-201  it. (  .) 174 

III.  Expansion  of  Rome  into  the  East 177 

IV.  The  Third  Punic  War  (149-146  IS. c.) 179 


CONTENTS  vii 

CHAPTER  PA(;E 

XXIX.  The  Last  Centukv  of  the  Republic  (133-31  n.c)  iSi 
XXX.  The  Estaulishment  of  the  Empire  and  the  Prin- 

ciPATE  OF  Augustus  Oesar  (31  h.  c.-a.d.  14)  .  .   .  200 
XXXI.  From  Tiisekius  to  the  Accession'  of  Diocletian 

(A.I).  14-2S4) 206 

XXXII.   Diocletian  and  Constantine  the  Great      .     .     .  215 

I.   The  Reign  of  Diocletian  (a.d.  284-305)  .      .      .      .  215 

II.   Reign  of  (.'onstantine  the  Great  (A.  I).  306-337)       .  218 

XXXI 11.  The  Last  Centukv  of  the  E.mpiki:  in  the  West 

(A.I).  376-476) 222 

XXXI\'.  Architecture,  Literaturi:,  Law,  and  So(  ial  Life 

AMONG  the  Romans        233 

I.  Architecture  and  Engineering 233 

II.   Literature,  Philosophy,  and  Law 235 

III.  Social  Life 239 

PART  II.   Mi:i)I/EVAL  AND    MODERN    HISTORY 

XXXW   Introduction 245 


DIIISIOX  I.    THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

FIRST   PKRIOI).  THK    I).\RK    AGES 
(From  the  Fall  of  Rome  to  the  Eleventh  Century) 

XXXVI.  The  Baruarian  Kin(;i:)0.ms   .... 

XXXVI I.  The  Church  and  its  Institutions    . 

I.  The  Conversion  of  the  Barbarians 

II.   The  Rise  of  Monasticism 

III.   The  Rise  of  the  Papacy  .... 

XXX\'III.  The  Fusion  of  Latin  and  Ti:uto\  . 
XXXl.X.  The  Roman  I^mph^i:  i\   the  East 

XL.  The  Rise  of  Islam 

XLI.  Ciiarlema(;ne  .\nd   ime   Restor.vtion  of 

I'IRE   IN     IIIE   We.ST 

XLII.  Tin:  Noktilmi'.n  :  the  Coming  of  the  A'ikings 


IIIE  Em 


250 

254 
254 
257 
259 

264 

2  68 
271 

277 
282 


yiii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

SECOND   PERIOD.    THE  AGE  OK   REVIVAL 
(From  the  Opening  of  the  Eleventh  Century  to  the  Discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  in  1492) 

XLIII.   Feudalism  and  Chivalkv 286 

I.  Feudalism 286 

II.   Chivalry 294 

XLIW  The  Norman  Conquest  of  England 298 

XLV.  The  Papacy  and  the  EMpn<E 303 

XLVI.  The  Crusades  (1096-1 273) 309 

XLVII.  Supremacy  of  the  Papacy;    Decline  of  its  Tem- 
poral Power 318 

XLVIII.  Turanian  Conquests;  Mongols  and  Turks    .     .     .  324 

XLIX.  The  Growth  of  the  Towns 329 

L.  The  Universities  and  the  Schoolmen 335 

LI.    CiKOWTH   OF   the    NATIONS:    FORMATION    OF    NATIONAL 

Governments  and  Literatures 340 

I.  England 34 1 

II.  France 35 1 

III.  Spain 355 

IV.  Germany 357 

V.   Russia 35^ 

VI.   Italy 359 

LII.  The  Renaissance 363 

DIVISIOX  11.    THE  MODERX  AGE 

THIRD  PERIOD.    THE  ERA  OF  THE   REFORMATION 
(From  the  Discovery  of  America,  in  1492,  to  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in  164S) 

LIII.  Geographical  Discoveries  and  the  Becmnnings  of 

Modern  Colonization 370 

LIV.  The  Beginnings  of  the  Reformation 383 

LV.  The  Ascendancy  of  Spain;   hkr  Relation  to  the 

Catholic  Reaction 399 

I.   Reign  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V  (i  519-1556)  .      .  399 

II.  Spain  under  Philip  II  (1556-1598) 404 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

LVI.  The  Tuoors  and  the   English   Reformation  (1485- 

1603) 407 

1.  Introductory 407 

II.  The  Reign  of  Henry  VII  (1485-1509)      ....      409 

III.  England  severed  from  the  Papacy  by  Henry  VHI 

(1509-1547) 410 

IV.  Changes  in  Doctrine  and  Ritual  under  Edward  VI 

{1547-1553) 417 

V.  Reaction  under  Mary  (1553-1558) 418 

VI.  Final  Establishment  of  Protestantism  under  Eliza- 
beth (1  55S-1603)     420 

LVII.  The    Revolt   of    the    Netherlands;-    Rise   of    the 

Dutch  Republic  (1572-1609) 428 

LVIII.  The  Huguenot  Wars  IN  France  (i 562-1629)  .     .     .     .  435 

LIX.  The  Thirtv  Years'  V^AR  (1618-1648) 442 

FOURTH   PERIOD.    THE   ERA  OF  THE  POLITICAL 

REVOLUTION 

(From  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  (1648)  to  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  (1919)) 

/.   THE  AGE  OF  ABSOLUTE  J/t?A^.4/fC//K  (1648-1789) 

LX.  Introductory:   the   Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Right 
of  Kin(;s  and  the   Maxims  of  the  Enlightened 

Despots       449 

LXI.  The  Ascendancy  of  France  under  Louis  XI\' (1643- 

171 5) 453 

LXn.  The   Stuarts   and    the   English    Revolution   (1603- 

1689) 462 

I.  The  First  Two  .Stuarts 462 

II.  The    Commonwealth   and    the  Protectorate  (1649- 

1660)         472 

III.  The  Restored  Stuarts 480 

IV.    Reign  of  William  and  Mary  (16S9-1 702)       .      .      .      483 

LXIIL  Thf.  Risi:  of    Russia:   Peter  the  Great  (16S2-1796)  4S5 
LXIV.  Tin:  Kisi-:  of  Prussia:    Frederick  the  Great  (1740- 

1786) 493 

LXV.  England  in  tiiic  I^iciiti-.i-.niii  Cicxtuky 501 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAOE 

//.   THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTIO.V  A  XP  X.inU.EcKV/f  A'A'/J  (1789-1815) 

LX\'I.  Thk  Frknch  Rkvoia'tion  (17X9-1799) 512 

I.  Causes  of  the  Revolution  ;  the  States-( General  of 

17S9 5'2 

II.  The   National  or   Constituent  Assembly  (June  17, 

1789-Septeniber  30,  1 79 1) 520 

III.  The   Legislative  Assembly  (October  i,  1791-Sep- 

tember  19,  1792) 525 

IV.  The   National   Convention   (September   .■'.o.    1792- 

October  26,  1795) 528 

V.  The    Directory    (October    27,    1795-November  9. 

•799) 537 

LXVII.  The  Consulate  and  thi-:  Napoleonic  E.mimkk  (i  799- 

I'^^iS) 543 

I.  The  C'onsulate  (1799-1804) 543 

II.  The  Napoleonic   Empire;  the  War  of   Liberation 

(1804-1S15) 546 


///.  FROM  THE  CONGRESS  OF  I'/E.V.VA    TO   THE    TREATY  OF 
VERSAILLES  (1815-1919) 

LXVIII.  The  Coxgre.ss  of  Vienna  and  Metternich      .     .     .     565 
LXIX.   France    fro.m    the    Second    Re.storation    to    the 

World  War  (1 8 1 5-1 9 1 4) 573 

LXX.  England  fkdm   thi-.   Battli".  of  Wati:rloo   to  the 

World  War  (181  5-1914) 580 

I.  Progress  toward  Democracy 580 

II.  Extension  of  the  Principle  of  Religious  Lquality    .      586 
III.   England's  Relations  with  Ireland 590 

LXXI.  The  Limeration  and  L'nification  of  Italv     .     .     .     594 
L.XXII.  The  Makinc;  of  the  New  CiER.man  Empire  ....     604 

I..\.\III.     Rl'SSIA      FROM      THE      CoNCiRESS     Ol"      \'lI-.\N\       To     THI', 

World  War  (1815-1914) 620 

I.   Russia's  Wars  against  Turkey  and  her  Allies    .  620 

II.  The  Emancipation  of  the  Serfs,  and   the   Liberal 

Movement 624 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

LXXIV.  The  New  Industrialism 628 

LXXV.  European  Expansion  in-  the  Nineteenth  and  the 

Early  Twentieth  Century 633 

I.  Causes    and    General    Phases    of   the    Expansion 

Movement 633 

II.  The  Expansion  of  England 636 

III.  The  Expansion  of  France 642 

IV.  The  Expansion  of  Germany 644 

V.  The  Expansion  of  Russia 645 

VI.  The  Expansion  of  the  United  States        ....  647 
VII.  Check  to  European  Expansion  and  Aggression    in 

Eastern  Asia 648 

LXXVI.  Evolution  toward  World  Federation      ....  655 

LXXVII.  The  World  War  (1914-1918) 660 

I.  Causes  of  the  War  and  Train  of  Preceding  Events  660 

II.  Outstanding  Events  of  the  War 677 

APPENDIX i 

INDEX xiii 


LIST  OF  MAPS 


COLORED  MAPS 

Based  in  the   main  on   Kiepert,   Schrader,   Droysen,  Spruner-Sieglin,   Poole,  and 

Freeman.    Many  of  the  maps  have  been  so  modified  by  additions  and  omissions  that 
as  they  here  appear  they  are  practically  new  charts. 

PAGE 

Ancient   Egypt 14 

Assyrian  Empire,  about  660  b.c 3° 

The  Persian  Empire  at  its  Greatest  Extent,  about  500  b.c 44 

General  Reference  Map  of  Ancient  Greece 52 

Greece  and  the  Greek  Colonies 74 

Empire  of  Alexander  the  Great,  about  323  b.c 112 

Italy  before  the  Growth  of  the  Roman  Empire 146 

The  Roman  Empire  at  its  Greatest  Extent  (under  Trajan,  a.d.  98-117)  210 
Map  showing  Barbarian  Inroads  on  the  Fall  of  the   Roman   Empire 

(movements  shown  down  to  a.d.  477) 228 

Greatest  Extent  of  the  Saracen  Dominions,  about  a.d.  750  ....  274 

The  Western  Empire  as  divided  at  Verdun,  a.d.  843 280 

Hitchin  Manor,  England,  about  1816 290 

Europe  and  the  Orient  in  1096 308 

The  Spanish  Kingdoms  in  1360 356 

Globe  de  Martin  Behaim,  1492,  and  Globe  Dore  vers  1528    ....  370 
Explorations  and  Colonies  of  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth 

Centuries 376 

Europe  at  the  Accession  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  1519     ....  398 

Europe  after  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  1648 446 

The  Partition  of  Poland 492 

Prussia  under  Frederick  the  Great,  1 740-1 7S6 408 

Central   Europe   in    1801 556 

Europe  after  1815 566 

Italy  in  1859 598 

The  Partition  of  Africa 634 

The  Far  East 650 

Europe  in  1914    ." 678 

The  New  Europe ,     ,     ,     ,  706 

xiii 


xiv  LIST  OF  MAPS 

SKETCH  MAPS 

PAGE 

The  World  according  to  Homer 64 

The  Seven  Hills  of  Rome 157 

The  Roman  Domain  and  the  Latin  Confederacy  in  the  Time  of  the 

Early  Republic,  about  450  b.c 162 

The  Barbarian  Kingdoms 250 

The  Roman  Empire  under  Justinian 269 

Discoveries  of  the  Northmen 283 

The  Empire  of  the  Ottoman  Turks  about  1464 328 

The  Hansa  Towns  and  their  Chief  Foreign  Settlements 331 

The  Plantagenet  Possessions  in  England  and  France 342 

Ethnographic  Map  of  Austria-Hungary 618 

Southeastern  Europe  after  the  Treaty  of  BerHn   (1878) 624 

Asian  Turkey  and  the  Bagdad  Railway 666 

Southeastern  Europe,  1914 674 

Mittel-Europa   and   Turkish   Annex 686 

The  Western  Front,  July  15,  1918 697 


GENERAL  HISTORY 

CHAPTER  I 
GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  :  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

1.  The  Prehistoric  and  the  Historic  Age.  The  immensely 
long  periods  of  human  life  which  lie  back  of  the  time  when  man 
began  to  keep  written  or  graven  records  of  events  form  what  is 
called  the  Prehistoric  Age.  The  comparatively  few  centuries  of 
human  experience  made  known  to  us  through  such  records  com- 
prise the  Historic  Age.  For  Egypt  the  historic  period  begins  about 
4000  B.C.;  for  the  Mediterranean  regions  of  Europe  it  opens  about 
1000  B.C.;  for  the  countries  of  central  and  northern  Europe,  speak- 
ing broadly,  not  until  about  the  beginning  of  our  era ;  and  for  the 
New  World  only  a  little  over  four  hundred  years  ago. 

2.  How  we  Learn  about  Prehistoric  Man.  A  knowledge  of 
what  manner  of  man  prehistoric  man  was  and  what  he  did  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  historical  student ;  for  the  dim  prehistoric  ages  of 
human  life  form  the  childhood  of  the  race — and  the  man  cannot 
be  understood  without  at  least  some  knowledge  of  the  child. 

But  how,  in  the  absence  of  written  records,  are  we  to  find  out 
anything  about  prehistoric  man  ?  In  many  ways  we  are  able  to 
learn  much  about  him.  First,  by  studying  the  life  of  present-day 
backward  races ;  for  what  they  now  are,  the  great  races  of  history, 
we  have  reason  to  believe,  were  in  their  prehistoric  age. 

Again,  the  men  who  lived  before  the  dawn  of  history  left  behind 
them  many  things  which  witness  as  to  what  manner  of  men  they 
were.  In  ancient  gravel  beds  along  the  streams  where  they  fished 
or  hunted,  in  the  caves  which  afforded  them  shelter,  in  the  refuse 
heaps  (kitchen  middens)  on  the  sites  of  their  villages  or  camping 
places,  or  in  the  graves  where  they  laid  away  their  dead,  we  find 


2  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  [§  3 

great  quantities  of  tools  and  weapons  and  other  articles  shaped 
by  their  hands.'  From  these  various  things  we  learn  what  skill 
these  early  men  had  acquired  as  tool  makers,  what  degree  of  cul- 
ture they  had  attained,  and  something  of  their  conception  of  the 
life  in  the  hereafter. 

3.  Divisions  of  Prehistoric  Times.  The  long  period  of  pre- 
historic times  is  divided  into  different  ages,  or  stages  of  culture, 
which  are  named  from  the  material  which  man  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  his  weapons  and  tools.  The  earliest  epoch  is  known  as 
the  Old  Stone  Age  ;  the  following  one  as. the  New  Stone  Age  ;  and 
the  later  period  as  the  Age  of  Metals.  The  division  lines  between 
these  ages  are  not  sharply  drawn.  In  most  countries  the  epochs 
run  into  and  overlap  one  another,  just  as  in  modern  times  the  Age 
of  Steam  runs  into  and  overlaps  the  Age  of  Electricity. 

4.  The  Old  Stone  Age.  In  the  Old  Stone  Age  man's  chief 
implements  were  usually  made  of  stone,  and  especially  of  chipped 
flints,  though  bones,  horns,  tusks,  and  other  materials  were  also 
used  in  their  manufacture.  These  rude  implements  and  weapons 
of  his,  found  mostly  in  river  gravel  beds  and  in  caves,  are  the 
very  oldest  things  in  existence  which  we  know  positively  to  have 
been  shaped  by  human  hands. 

The  man  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  in  Europe  saw  the  retreating 
glaciers  of  the  great  Ice  Age,  of  which  geology  tells  us.  Among 
the  animals  which  lived  with  him  on  that  continent  (we  know 
most  of  early  man  there)  were  the  woolly-haired  mammoth,  the 
bison,  the  wild  ox,  the  cave  bear,  the  rhinoceros,  the  wild  horse, 
and  the  reindeer — species  which  are  no  longer  found  in  the  regions 
where  primitive  man  hunted  them.  As  the  climate  and  the  vege- 
tation changed,  some  of  these  animals  became  extinct,  while  others 
of  the  cold-loving  species  retreated  up  the  mountains  or  migrated 
toward  the  north.  ;. 

.  What  we  know  of  man  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  may  be  summed  up 
;as  follows:  , he  was  a  hunter  and  fisher;  his  habitation  was  often 

'■','.     •'•>    ;.:    ,'SJ'.:.   ■' 

1  Besides  these  material  things  that  can  be  seen  and  handli-d,  there  are  many  im- 
'rtiaterial  ttiinf+s^— as,  for  instance,  language,  wliich  is  as  full  of  human  memories  as  the 
.rocks  are  y£  fossils  ~-  that  Jight  up  for  us  the  dim  ages  before  history. 


§4] 


THE  OLD  STONE  AGE 


merely  a  cave  or  a  rock  shelter ;  his  implements  were  in  the  main 
roughly  shaped  flints ;  he  had  no  domestic  animals  save  possibly 
the  dog  ;  he  was  ignorant  of  the  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving,  and 
practically  also  of  the  art  of  making  pottery.^ 

The  length  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  no  one  knows;  we  do  not 
attempt  to  reckon  its  duration  by  years  or  by  centuries,  but  only 


Fig.   I.     I.MPLEiMEXTS   OF    THE    OlD    STONE   AgE 

No.  /,  the  core  of  a  flint  nodule,  was  the  earUest  and  the  characteristic  tool  and  weapon 
of  man  of  the  Old  Stone  .Vge.  It  served  a  variety  of  purposes,  and  was  used  without  a 
handle,  being  clutched  with  the  hand  (No.  9),  and  hence  is  called  the  hand-a.x  or  fist-a.x. 
No  2  is  a  flint  flake  struck  from  a  nodule.  No.  8  (a  harpoon-point)  tells  us  that  the  man 
of  this  age  was  a  fisher  as  well  as  a  hunter.  From  No.  6  (a  bone  needle)  we  may  infer 
that  he  made  clothing  of  skins,  for  since  he  had  not  yet  learned  the  art  of  weaving  (the 
spindle-whorl  does  not  appear  till  the  next  epoch  ;  see  Fig.  5  and  explanatory  note),  the 
material  of  which  he  made  clothing  could  hardly  have  been  anything  else  than  the  skins 
of  animals  killed  in  the  chase.  That  skins  were  carefully  prepared  is  evidenced  by  the 
scraper  (Nos.  4,  //),  an  implement  used  in  dressing  hides.  No.  7  (an  engraving-tool) 
tells  us  that  art  had  its  beginnings  in  the  Old  Stone  .Age 

by  geologic  ages.  We  do  know,  however,  that  the  long,  slow  ages 
did  not  pass  away  without  some  progress  having  been  made  by 
primeval  man,  which  assures  us  that,  though  so  lowly  a  creature, 
he  was  endowed  with  the  capacity  for  growth  and  improvement. 
Before  the  end  of  the  period  he  had  acquired  wonderful  skill  in 
the  chipping  of  flint  points  and  blades ;  he  had  learned  the  use  of 
fire,  as  we  know  from  the  traces  of  fire  found  in  the  places  where 

1  The  Australians  and  New  Zealandcrs  when  first  discovered  were  in  the  Old  Stone 
Age  stage  of  culture  ;  the  Tasmaniuns  had  not  yet  reached  it. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION 


[§4 


Fig. 


.    Engkavinc;  of  a  Ma.m.moth  on 
THE  Fka(;mkxt  of  a  Tusk 
(Old  Stone  Age) 


he  made  his  abode ;  and  he  had  probably  invented  the  bow  and 
arrow,  as  we  find  this  weapon  in  very  general  use  at  the  opening 

of  the  following  epoch. 
This  important  invention 
gave  man  what  was  to  be 
one  of  his  chief  weapons 
in  the  chase  and  in  war 
for  thousands  of  years — 
down  to  and  even  after 
the  mvention  of  fire- 
arms late  in  the  historic 
period. 

But  most  prophetic  of  the  great  future  of  this  savage  or  semi- 
savage  cave  man  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  was  the  fine  artistic  talent 
that  some  tribes  or  races  of  the  period  possessed  ;  for,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  among  the  men  of  this  epoch  there  were  some  amazingly 
good  artists.  Besides  numer- 
ous specimens  of  his  draw- 
ings and  carvings  of  animals, 
chiefly  on  bone  and  ivory, 
which  have  been  found  from 
time  to  time  during  the  last 
half  century  and  more,  there 
have  recently  been  discov- 
ered many  large  drawings 
and  paintings  on  the  walls  of 
various  grottoes  in  southern 
P'rance  and  northern  Spain. ^ 
representations  of  animals. 


Vic.  3.     Waij.    Pictukk    fkom    the 

CAVKKX  of  F()NT-DE-(iAl'.ME,    FRANCE 

(After  Breuil) 

These  wonderful  pictures  are  mainly 
The  species  most  often  depicted  are 


the  bison,  the  horse,  the  wild  ox,  the  reindeer,  and  the  mammoth. 

'  The  first  of  these  wall  paintings  were  discovered  in  1871;,  but  that  they  really  were 
of  the  immcn.se  age  claimcrl  for  them  was  not  established  beyond  all  doubt  until  1902. 
The  pictures  are  generally  found  in  the  depths  of  caverns  where  not  a  ray  of  the  light 
of  day  ever  enters.  'I'hey  were  made  by  the  linht  of  lamps  fed  with  the  fat  of  animals. 
It  is  almost  certain  that  they  had  a  magical  purpose,  that  is,  were  made  in  the  belief  that 
by  a  species  of  magic  they  would  cause  an  increase  of  the  game  animals  represented,  or 
would  render  them  a  sure  prey  in  the  chase. 


Fig.  4.    Specimens  of  the  Art  of  the  Europeax  Cave  Man 

These  remarkable  animal  forms  were  painted,  in  colors  still  well  preser\'ed,  on  the 
walls  of  French  and  Spanish  caverns,  by  a  race  of  hunter-artists  of  the  Old  Stone  Age. 
They  were  drawn  probably  at  least  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  years  before  the  Pyramids 

were  erected 


§5] 


THE  NEW  STONE  AGE 


This  astonishing  art  of  the  European  cave  men  shows  that  primi- 
tive man,  probably  because  he  is  a  hunter  and  lives  so  close  to  the 
wild  life  around  him,  often  has  a  keener  eye  for  animal  forms 
and  movements  than  the  artists  of  more  advanced  races.  The 
history  of  art  (sculpture,  engraving,  and  painting)  must  hereafter 
begin  with  the  works  of  these  artist  hunters  of  the  Old  Stone  Age. 


Fig.  5.    Implements  of  the  New  Stone  Age 

These  tools  and  weapons  mark  a  great  advance  over  the  chipped  flints  of  the  Old 
Stone  Age  (Fig.  1).  They  embody  the  results  of  thousands  (perhaps  tens  of  thousands) 
of  years  of  human  experience  and  invention,  and  mark  the  first  steps  in  human  progress. 
Nos.  1-3  and  y-io  show  how  after  unmeasured  ages  man  had  learned  to  increase  the 
effectiveness  of  his  tools  and  weapons  by  grinding  them  smooth  and  sharp,  and  by 
fitting  handles  to  them.  No.  5  records  the  incoming  of  the  art  of  making  pottery  —  one 
of  the  most  important  industrial  arts  prior  to  the  .'\ge  of  Iron.  No.  6  (a  spindle-whorl 
of  stone  or  of  hardened  clay  used  as  a  weight  in  twisting  thread)  informs  us  that  man 
had  learned  the  civilizing  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving 


5.  The  New  Stone  Age.  The  Old  Stone  Age  was  followed  by 
the  New.  Chipped  or  hammered  stone  implements  still  continued 
to  be  used,  but  what  characterizes  this  period  was  the  use  of  ground 
or  polished  implements.  INIan  had  learned  the  art  of  grinding  his 
tools  and  weapons  to  a  sharp  edge  with  sand  on  a  grinding  stone.' 
To  his  ax  he  had  also  learned  to  attach  a  handle,  which  made  it 
a  vastly  more  effective  implement  (Fig.  5). 


1  The  North  American  Indians  were  in  this  stage  of  culture  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the. New  World.  The  Egyptians  and  IJabylonians  were  just  emerging  from  it 
when  they  first  appeared  in  history. 


GENERAT.  INTRODUCTION' 


[i6 


'40 

'do 


Besides  these  improvements  in  his  tools  and  weapons,  the  man 
of  the  New  Stone  Age  had  made  other  great  advances  beyond  the 
man  of  the  Old  Stone  Age.  He  had  learned  to  till  the  soil ;  he  had 
learned  to  make  fme  pottery,  to  spin,  and  to  weave ;  he  had  do- 
mesticated various  wild  animals  ;  he  built  houses,  often  on  piles  on 
the  margins  of  lakes  and  morasses ;  and 
he  buried  his  dead  in  such  a  manner — 
with  accompanying  gifts  (Fig.  6) — as 
to  show  that  he  had  a  firm  belief  in  a 
future  life.^ 

6.  The  Age  of  Metals.  Finally  the 
long  ages  of  stone  passed  into  the  Age 
of  Metals.  This  age  falls  into  three 
subdivisions — the  Age  of  Copper,  the 
Age  of  Bronze,  and  the  Age  of  Iron. 
Some  peoples,  like  the  African  negroes, 
passed  directly  from  the  use  of  stone  to 
the  use  of  iron ;  but  in  most  of  the  coun- 
tries of  the  Orient  and  of  Europe  the 
three  metals  came  into  use  one  after  the 
other  and  in  the  order  named.  Speaking 
broadly,  we  may  say  that  the  Age  of 
Metals  began  for  the  more  advanced 
peoples  of  the  ancient  world  between 
4000  and  3000  B.C. 

The  history  of  metals  has  been  de- 
clared to  be  the  history  of  civilization. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  overestimate  their 
importance  to  man.  Man  could  do  very  little  with  stone  imple- 
ments compared  with  what  he  could  do  with  metal  implements. 
It  was  a  great  labor  for  primitive  man,  even  with  the  aid  of 
fire,  to  fell  a  tree  with  a  stone  ax  and  to  hollow  out  the  trunk 
for  a  boat.    He  was  hampered  in  all  his  tasks  by  the  rudeness  of 

'  Rcrcnt  discoveries  have  revealed  traces  of  this  belief  even  before  the  close  of  the 
Old  Stone  Age.  Several  cases  of  burial  have  been  found  with  rich  grave  outfits  of  flint 
implements  and  weapons,  which  point  unmistakably  to  a  belief  in  a  life  after  death. 


Fk;.  6.    A  PuiiHisTOKic 

E(;yptian  Tomb 

(After/.  (/£  Morga/i) 

Primitive  man's  belief  in  a 
future  life  led  him  to  place 
in  the  grave  of  the  deceased 
weapons,  implements,  food, 
and  articles  of  personal  adorn- 
ment for  use  in  the  other 
world.  Outfits  of  this  kind 
found  in  prehistoric  graves 
are  an  important  source  of 
our  knowledge  of  man  before 
recorded  bister)'  begins 


§7] 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  USE  OF  FIRE 


his  tools.  It  was  only  as  the  bearer  of  metal  implements  and 
weapons  that  he  began  really  to  subdue  the  earth  and  to  get 
dominion  over  nature.  All  the  higher  cultures  of  the  ancient  world 
with  which  history  begins  were  based  on  the  knowledge  and  use 
of  metals. 

7.  The  Origin  of  the  Use  of  Fire.    That  fire  was  known  to 
man  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  we  learn,  as  already  noted,  from  the 


Fig.  7.    Primitive  Methods  of  maki.xg  Fire.   (After  Tylor) 

Doubtless  the  discovery  that  fire  could  be  produced  by  friction  came  about  through 
the  operation  of  the  primitive  toolmaker.  The  processes  of  smoothing,  polishing,  and 
grooving  softwood  implements,  and  of  boring  holes  in  them  with  pieces  of  harder  wood, 
could  hardly  fail  of  revealing  the  secret.  The  character  of  the  fire-making  devices  of 
present-day  savages  point  the  way  of  the  discovery 


traces  of  it  discovered  in  the  caves  and  rock  shelters  which  were 
his  abode.  No  people  has  ever  been  found  so  low  in  the  scale  of 
culture  as  to  be  without  it. 

As  to  the  way  in  which  early  man  came  into  possession  of  fire, 
we  have  no  knowledge.  Possibly  he  kindled  his  first  fire  from  a 
glowing  lava  stream  or  from  some  burning  tree  trunk  set  aflame  by 
the  lightning.^  However  this  may  be,  he  had  in  the  earliest  times 
learned  to  produce  the  vital  spark  by  means  of  friction.  The  fire 
borer,  according  to  Tylor,  is  among  the  oldest  of  human  inventions. 
Since  the  awakening  of  the  spark  was  difficult,  the  fire  once  alight 
was  carefully  fed  so  that  it  should  not  go  out.  The  duty  of 
watching  the  flame  naturally  fell  to  the  old  women  or  to  the 
daughters  of  the  community,  to  which  custom  may  be  traced  the 
origin  of  such  institutions  as  that  among  the  Romans  of  the  six 

^  Fires  thus  lighted  are  surprisingly  numerous.  During  the  year  1914  there  were 
over  2000  fires  started  by  lightning  in  the  national  forests  of  the  United  States. 


8  GENERAL  IXTRODUCTION  L§  8 

vestal  virgin  priestesses,  the  keepers  of  the  sacred  fire  which  flamed 
on  the  common  household  hearth  in  the  temple  of  the  goddess 
Vesta  (sect.  237). 

Only  gradually  did  primeval  man  learn  the  various  properties 
of  lire  and  discover  the  different  uses  to  which  it  might  be  put, 
just  as  historic  man  has  learned  only  gradually  the  possible  uses 
of  electricity.  By  some  happy  accident  or  discovery  he  learned 
that  it  would  harden  clay,  and  he  became  a  potter ;  that  it  would 
smelt  ores,  and  he  became  a  worker  in  metals ;  and  that  it  would 
aid  him  in  a  hundred  other  ways.  "Fire,"  says  Joly,  "presided 
at  the  birth  of  nearly  every  art,  or  quickened  its  progress."  The 
place  it  holds  in  the  development  of  the  family,  of  religion,  and 
of  the  industrial  arts  is  revealed  by  these  three  significant  words — 
"  the  hearth,  the  altar,  the  forge."  No  other  agent  has  contributed 
more  to  the  progress  of  civilization.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive how  without  fire  primitive  man  could  ever  have  emerged 
from  the  Age  of  Stone. 

8.  The  Domestication  of  Animals.  "When  we  visit  a  farm  at 
the  present  day  and  observe  the  friendly  nature  of  the  life  which 
goes  on  there, —  the  horse  proudly  and  obediently  bending  his  neck 
to  his  yoke  ;  the  cow  offering  her  streaming  udder  to  the  milkmaid  ; 
the  woolly  flock  going  forth  to  the  field,  accompanied  by  their 
trusty  protector,  the  dog,  who  comes  fawning  to  his  master, — 
this  familiar  intercourse  between  man  and  beast  seems  so  natural 
that  it  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  things  may  once  have  been 
different.  And  yet  in  the  picture  we  see  only  the  final  result  of 
thousands  and  thousands  of  years  of  the  work  of  civilization,  the 
enormous  importance  of  which  simply  escapes  our  notice  because 
it  is  by  everyday  wonders  that  our  amazement  is  least  excited."^ 

The  most  of  this  work  of  inducing  the  animals  of  the  fields  and 
woods  to  become,  as  it  were,  members  or  dependents  of  the  human 
family,  to  enter  into  a  league  of  friendship  with  man  and  to  be- 
come his  helpers,  was  done  by  prehistoric  man.  When  man  appears 
in  history,  he  appears  surrounded  by  almost  all  the  domestic 
animals  known  to  us  today.    The  dog  was  already  his  faithful 

1  Schrader,  Frchistoric  Antiquities  of  the  Aryan  Peoples  (1890),  p.  259. 


§9]  THE  DOMESTICATION  OF  PLANTS  9 

companion — and  probably  the  first  won  from  among  the  wild 
creatures;  the  sheep,  the  cow,  and  the  goat  shared  his  shelter 
with  him. 

The  domestication  of  animals  had  such  a  profound  effect  upon 
human  life  and  occupation  that  it  marks  the  opening  of  a  new 
epoch  in  history.  The  hunter  became  a  shepherd,  and  the  hunting 
stage  in  culture  gave  place  to  the  pastoral.^ 

9.  The  Domestication  of  Plants.  Long  before  the  dawn  of 
history  those  peoples  of  the  Old  World  who  were  to  play  great 
parts  in  early  historic  times  had  advanced  from  the  pastoral  to 
the  agricultural  stage  of  culture.  Just  as  the  step  from  the  hunting 
to  the  pastoral  stage  had  been  taken  with  the  aid  of  a  few  of  the 
most  social  species  of  animals,  so  had  this  second  upward  step, 
from  the  pastoral  to  the  agricultural  stage,  been  taken  by  means 
of  the  domestication  of  a  few  of  the  innumerable  species  of  the 
seed  grasses  and  plants  growing  wild  in  field  and  wood. 

Wheat  and  barley,  two  of  the  most  important  of  the  cereals, 
were  probably  first  domesticated  somewhere  in  Asia,  and  from 
there  carried  over  Europe.  These  grains,  together  with  oats  and 
rice,  have  been,  in  the  words  of  Tylor,  "the  mainstay  of  human 
life  and  the  great  moving  power  of  civilization." 

The  domestication  of  plants  and  the  art  of  tilling  the  soil  ef- 
fected a  great  revolution  in  prehistoric  society.  The  wandering  life 
of  the  hunter  and  the  herder  now  gave  way  to  a  settled  mode  of 
existence.  Cities  were  built,  and  within  them  began  to  be  amassed 
those  treasures,  material  and  immaterial,  which  constitute  the 
precious  heirloom  of  humanity.  This  attachment  to  the  soil  of 
the  hitherto  roving  clans  and  tribes  meant  also  the  beginning  of 
political  life.  The  cities  were  united  into  states  and  great  king- 
doms were  formed,  and  the  political  history  of  man  began,  as  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates. 

10.  The  Invention  of  Writing.  Still  another  achievement  of 
prehistoric  man  was  the  invention  of  writing.  There  are  two  kinds 
of  writing, — picture  writing  and  phonetic  or  sound  writing.    In 

1  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  most  of  tiic  wild  stocks  whence  have  come  our  domestic 
animals  arc  of  Old  World  ori";in. 


10  (iKXERAL  INTRODUCTION  [$?  10 

picture  writiriR  the  characters  are  in  the  main  rude  pictures  of 
material  objects.  This  way  of  representing  ideas  seems  natural  to 
man.    It  is  a  form  of  writing  that  children  love  to  use. 

In  phonetic  writing  the  symbols  represent  sounds  of  the  human 
voice.  There  are  three  stages.  In  the  first  stage  each  picture 
or  symbol  stands  for  a  whole  word.  In  such  a  system  as  this  there 
must  of  course  be  as  many  characters  or  signs  as  there  are  words 
in  the  language  represented.  In  working  out  their  system  of 
writing  the  Chinese  stuck  fast  at  this  point   (sect.  77). 

In  the  second  stage  the  symbols  are  used  to  represent  syllables 
instead  of  words.  This  reduces  at  once  the  number  of  signs  needed 
from  many  thousands  to  a  few  hundreds,  since  the  words  of  any 
given  language  are  formed  by  the  combination  of  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  syllables.  With  between  four  and  five  hundred 
symbols  the  ancient  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  who  used  this 
form  of  writing,  were  able  to  represent  all  the  words  of  their 
respective  languages  (sect.  36). 

While  a  collection  of  syllabic  signs  is  a  great  improvement  over 
a  collection  of  word  signs,  still  it  is  a  clumsy  instrument  for 
expressing  ideas,  and  the  system  requires  still  further  simplifica- 
tion. This  is  done  and  the  third  and  final  step  in  developing  a 
convenient  system  of  writing  is  taken  when  the  symbols  are 
used  to  represent  not  syllables  but  elementary  sounds  of  the 
human  voice,  of  which,  there  are  only  a  few — a  score  or  two 
—  in  any  language.  Then  the  symbols  become  true  letters,  a 
complete  collection  of  which  is  called  an  alphabet,  and  the 
mode  of  writing  alphabetic.  This  is  the  system  of  writing  which 
we  employ. 

What  people  invented  the  first  alphabet  is  unknown  ;  but  as 
early  as  the  ninth  century  b.c.  we  find  several  Semitic  peoples  in 
possession  of  a  true  alphabet.  Through  various  agencies,  particu- 
larly through  the  agency  of  trade  and  commerce,  this  alphabet 
was  spread  east  and  west  and  thus  became  the  parent  of  all  except 
one'  of  the  alphabets  employed  by  the  peoples  of  the  ancient 
world  of  history. 

1  .See  p.  27,  n.  i. 


§  11]  THE  GREAT  BEQUEST  ii 

With  the  invention  of  phonetic  writing  and  the  practice  of 
keeping  records,  with  names  of  actors  and  dates  of  events,  the 
truly  historic  age  for  man  begins. 

11.  The  Great  Bequest.  We  of  this  twentieth  century  esteem 
ourselves  fortunate  in  being  the  heirs  of  a  noble  heritage,  the  heirs 
of  all  the  past.  We  are  not  used  to  thinking  of  the  men  of  the 
first  generation  of  historic  times  as  also  the  heirs  of  a  great  legacy. 
But  even  the  scanty  review  we  have  made  of  what  was  discovered 
and  thought  out  by  man  during  the  long  epochs  before  history 
began  cannot  fail  to  have  impressed  us  with  the  fact  that  a  vast 
bequest  was  made  by  prehistoric  to  historic  man. 

If  our  hasty  glance  at  those  far-away  times  has  done  nothing 
more  than  this,  then  we  shall  never  again  regard  history  quite  as 
may  have  been  our  wont.  We  shall  see  the  story  of  man  to  be 
more  wonderful  than  we  once  thought,  the  path  which  he  has  fol- 
lowed to  be  longer  and  more  toilsome  than  we  ever  imagined. 
But  our  interest  in  the  traveler  will  have  been  deepened  through 
our  knowing  more  of  his  origin,  of  his  early  hard  and  narrow  life, 
and  of  his  first  painful  steps  in.  the  path  of  civilization.  We  shall 
follow  with  greater  concern  and  sympathy  this  wonderful  being, 
child  of  earth  and  child  of  heaven,  this  heir  of  all  the  ages,  as  he 
journeys  on  and  upward  with  his  face  toward  the  light. 

References.!  Osborn,  II.  F.,  Men  of  the  OIJ  Stone  Ai^e  ("  The  most  impor- 
tant work  on  the  evolution  of  our  own  species  that  has  appeared  since 
Darwin's  "Descent  of  Man.'  " —  Theodore  Roosevelt).  Solla.s,  W.  J.,  Ancient 
Hzt7iters.  Hoernes,  M.,  Primitive  Man.  Keary,  C.  F.,  The  Dawn  of  History. 
Starr,  F.,  Some  First  Steps  in  Human  Progress.  Tyi.OR,  E.  B.,  Anthropology, 
chaps,  iv,  vii,  "Language"  and  "Writing";  Primitive  Culture,  2  vols.  LuB- 
liDCK,  .Sik  J.,  Prehistoric  Times.  Mason,  O.  T.,  First  Steps  in  Hutnan  Culture 
and  7he  Origin  of  /nve7ition.  Daveni'ort,  E.,  Domesticated  Animals  and 
Plants.  SllALER,  N.  S.,  Domesticated  Attimals.  HOFFMANN,  W.  J.,  The  Begin- 
nings of  Writing.  Clodd,  E.,  The  Stoiy  of  the  Alphabet.  Taylor,  I.,  The 
Alphabet,  2  vols.  Holbrook,  F.,  Cave,  Mound,  and  Lake  Divellers  (juvenile). 
Frobenius,  The  Childhood  of  Man,  chap,  xxvii. 

1  For  titles  of  Source  Books  containing  selections  from  the  original  sources  for  the 
history  of  different  periods  and  for  Topics  for  Class  Reports,  see  Appendix. 


PART  I.    ANCIENT  HISTORY 
DIVISION  I.    THE  EASTERN  NATIONS 

CHAPTER  II 
RACES  AND  GROUPS  OF  PEOPLES 

12.  Subdivisions  of  the  Historic  Age.  We  begin  now  our 
study  of  the  Historic  Age — a  record  of  about  six  or  seven  thou- 
sand years.  The  story  of  historic  times  is  usually  divided  into 
three  parts — Ancient,  INIediaeval,  and  Modern  History.  Ancient 
History  begins,  as  already  indicated,  with  the  earliest  peoples  of 
which  we  can  gain  any  certain  knowledge  through  written  records, 
and  extends  to  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West, 
in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  iMediieval  History  em- 
braces the  period,  the  so-called  Middle  Ages,  about  one  thousand 
years  in  length,  lying  between  the  fall  of  Rome  and  the  discovery 
of  the  New  World  by  Columbus,  a.d.  1492.  Modern  History 
commences  with  the  close  of  the  mediaeval  period  and  extends  to 
the  present  time.^ 

13.  The  Races  of  Mankind  in  the  Historic  Period.  Distinc- 
tions mainly  in  bodily  characteristics,  such  as  form,  color,  and 
features,  divide  the  human  species  into  many  types  or  races,  of 
which  the  three  chief  are  known  as  the  Black  or  Negro  Race,  the 
Yellow  or  Mongolian  Race,  and  the  White  or  Caucasian  Race.^ 

1  It  is  thought  preferable  by  some  scholars  to  let  the  decisive  beginning  of  the 
great  Teutonic  migration  (a.d.  376),  or  the  restoration  of  the  Empire  by  Ch.nrlemagne 
(a.i>.  800),  mark  the  end  of  the  period  of  Ancient  History,  and  to  call  all  after  that 
Modem  History.  .Some  also  prefer  to  date  the  beginning  of  the  modern  period  from  the 
capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  (a.d.  1453)  ;  while  still  others  speak  of  it  in  a 
general  way  as  commencing  about  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  at  which  time  there 
were  many  inventions  and  discoveries,  and  great  movements  in  the  intellectual  world. 

2  The  classification  given  is  simply  a  convenient  and  practical  one.  It  disregards 
various  minor  groups  of  uncertain  ethnic  relationship. 


§14] 


THE  BLACK  RACE 


13 


But  we  must  not  suppose  each  of  these  three  types  to  be  sharply 
marked  off  from  the  others ;  they  shade  into  one  another  by  in- 
sensible gradations.  There  is  a  great  number  of  intermediate  types 
or  subraces. 

It  is  probable  that  the  physical  and  mental  differences  of  exist- 
ing races  arose  through  their  ancestors'  having  been  subjected  to 
different  climatic  influences  and  to  different  conditions  of  life 
through  long  periods  of  prehistoric  time.  There  has  been  no 
perceptible  change  in  the  great  types  of 
mankind  during  the  historic  period.  The 
paintings  upon  the  oldest  Egyptian 
monuments  show  us  that  at  the  dawn  of 
history  the  principal  races  were  as  dis- 
tinctly marked  as  now,  each  bearing  its 
racial  badge  of  color  and  features. 

14.  The  Black  Race.  Africa  south  of 
the  Sahara  is  the  true  home  of  the  typical 
folk  (the  negroes)  of  the  Black  Race,  but 
we  find  them  on  all  the  other  continents 
and  on  many  of  the  islands  of  the  seas, 
whither  they  have  migrated  or  been 
carried  as  slaves  by  the  stronger  races. 

15.  The  Yellow  or  Mongolian  Race.  Eastern  and  northern 
Asia  is  the  central  seat  of  the  Mongolian  Race.  Many  of  the 
Mongolian  tribes  are  wandering  herdsmen,  who  roam  over  the 
vast  Asian  plains  north  of  the  great  ranges  of  the  Himalayas ; 
their  leading  part  in  history  has  been  to  harass  peoples  of 
settled  habits. 

But  the  most  important  peoples  of  this  type  are  the  Japanese 
and  the  Chinese.  The  latter  constitute  probably  a  fifth  or  more 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  earth.  Already  in  times  very  remote 
this  people  had  developed  a  civilization  quite  advanced  on  various 
lines,  but  having  reached  a  certain  stage  in  culture  they  did  not 
continue  to  make  so  marked  a  progress.  Not  until  recent  times 
did  either  the  Chinese  or  the  Japanese  come  to  play  a  real  part 
in  world  history. 


Fig.  8.  Negro  Captives 

(From  the  monuments  of 

Thebes) 

Illustrating  the  permanence  of 
race  characteristics 


14  RACES  AX  I)  GROUPS  OF  TEOPLES  [§  16 

16.  The  White  or  Caucasian  Race  and  its  Three  Groups. 
The  so-called  White  or  Caucasian  Race  embraces  almost  all  of 
the  historic  nations.  Its  chief  peoples  fall  into  three  groups — the 
Hamitic,  the  Semitic,  and  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European.  The  mem- 
bers forming  any  one  of  these  groups  must  not  be  looked  upon 
as  necessarily  kindred  in  blood ;  the  only  certain  bond  uniting 
the  peoples  of  each  group  is  the  bond  of  language. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  the  most  remarkable  people  of  the 
Hamitic  branch.  In  the  gray  dawn  of  history  we  discover  them 
already  settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  there  erecting  great 
monuments  so  faultless  in  construction  as  to  render  it  certain 
that  those  who  planned  them  had  had  long  training  in  the  art 
of  building. 

The  Semitic  family  includes  among  its  chief  peoples  the  ancient 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  the  Hebrews,  the  Phcenicians,  and  the 
Arabians.  Most  scholars  regard  Arabia  as  the  original  home  of 
this  family.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  three  great  mono- 
theistic religions — the  Hebrew,  the  Christian,  and  the  Moham- 
medan— ^ arose  among  peoples  belonging  to  the  Semitic  family. 

The  Aryan-speaking  peoples  form  the  most  widely  dispersed 
group  of  the  White  Race.  They  include  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans,  all  the  peoples  of  modern  Europe  (save  the  Basques, 
the  Finns  and  Lapps,  the  Hungarians,  and  the  Ottoman  Turks), 
together  with  the  Persians,  the  Hindus,  and  some  other  Asian 
peoples.'  After  what  we  may  call  the  Semitic  age  it  is  the  Aryan- 
speaking  peoples  that  have  borne  the  leading  parts  in  the  great 
drama  of  history. 

References.  Kii-lkv,  W.  Z.,  The  Races  of  Europe.  Keank,  A.  II.,  Ethnology 
and  Man,  Past  and  Present.  Deniker,  J.,  The  Races  of  Man.  Sergi,  G.,  The 
Mediterranean  Race.  Ratzel,  F.,  The  History^  of  Mankind,  2  vols.  Keith,  A., 
Ancient  Types  of  Man.  Brinton,  I).  (I.,  Races  and  Peoples.  Taylor,  I.,  The 
Origin  of  the  Aryans.  SCHRADER,  O.,  The  Prehistoric  Civilizatioft  of  the 
Aryan   Peoples. 

'  The  kinship  in  speech  of  all  these  peoples  is  most  plainly  shown  by  the  similar 
form  and  meaning  of  certain  words  in  their  different  languages,  as,  for  example,  the 
word  father,  which  occurs  with  but  little  change  in  several  of  the  Aryan  tongues 
(.Sanscrit, /;/W ;  Persian, /«</«;-;  Greek.  7roT|;p  ;  Latin, /<7/<-r ;  German,  Vater). 


CHAPTER  III 


ANCIENT  EGYPT 


I.  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

17.  Egypt  and  the  Nile.  The  Egypt  of  history  comprises  the 
Delta  of  the  Nile  and  the  flood  plains  of  its  lower  course.  These 
rich  lands  were  formed  in  past  geologic  ages  from  the  silt  brought 
down  by  the  river  in  seasons  of  flood.  The  Delta  was  known  to 
the  ancients  as  Lower  Egypt,  while  the  valley  proper,  reaching 
from  the  head  of  the  Delta  to  the  First  Cataract,  a  distance  of 
six  hundred  miles,  was  called  Upper  Egypt. 

Through  the  same  means  by  which  Egypt  was  originally  cre- 
ated is  the  land  each  year  still  renewed  and  fertilized  ;  hence  an 
old  Greek  writer,  in  k^bv^s^ 

happy  phrase,  called  —  \-^* 
the  country  "  the  gift 
of  the  Nile."  Swollen 
by  heavy  tropical 
rains  and  the  melt- 
ing    snows    of    the 

mountains  about  its  sources,  the  Nile  each  year  overflows  its 
banks  and  on  receding  leaves  on  the  fields  a  film. of  rich  earth. 
In  a  few  weeks  after  the  sowing  of  the  grain,  the  entire  land,  so 
recently  a  flooded  plain,  is  a  sea  of  verdure,  which  forms  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  desert  sands  and  barren  hills  that  rim  the  valley. 

18.  Climate  and  Products.  The  climate  of  Egypt  is  semi- 
tropical.  The  fruits  of  the  tropics  and  the  cereals  of  the  temperate 
zone  grow  luxuriantly.  From  early  times  the  land  was  the  granary 
of  the  East.  To  it  less  favored  countries,  when  stricken  by  famine, 
— a  calamity  so  common  in  the  East  in  regions  dependent  upon  the 
rainfall, — looked  for  food,  as  did  the  families  of  Israel  during 
drought  and  failure  of  crops  in  Palestine. 

IS 


Fk;.  g.    Ploughing  and  Sowing 
(From  a  papyrus) 


i6 


ANCIENT  EGYPT 


[§  19 


19.  The  Pharaoh  and  the  Dynasties.  The  rulers  of  historic 
Egypt  bore  the  royal  title  or  common  name  of  Pharaoh.  The 
Pharaohs  that  reigned  in  the  country  up  to  the  conquest  of 
Alexander  the  Great  (332  b.c.)  are  grouped  in  thirty-one  dynas- 
ties. The  history  of  these  dynasties  covers  more  than  half  of  the 
entire  period  of  authentic  history.    Almost  three  thousand  years 

of  this  history  had  passed 
before  the  opening  of  the 
historic  age  in  Greece  and 
Italy. 

20.  The  Fourth  Dy- 
nasty (about  2900-2750 
B.C.);  the  Pyramid 
Builders.  The  Pharaohs 
of  the  Fourth  Dynasty, 
who  reigned  at  Memphis, 
are  called  the  pyramid 
builders,  because  they 
built  the  largest  of  the 
pyramids.  Khufu,  the 
Cheops  of  the  Greeks,  was 
the  most  noted  of  these 
rulers.  He  constructed  the 
Great  Pyramid,  at  Gizeh, 
— ^"the  greatest  mass  of 
masonry  that  has  ever- 
been  put  together  by  mor- 
tal man.'"  A  recent  fortunate  discovery  enables  us  now  to  look 
upon  the  face  of  this  Khufu,  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  renowned 
personiiges  of  the  ancient  world  (Fig.  10). 

To  some  king  of  this  same  early  family  of  pyramid  builders  is 
also  ascribed,  by  some  authorities,  the  wonderful  sculpture  of  the 
f];igantic  human-headed  Sphinx  at  the  foot  of  the  Great  Pyramid  — 
the  largest  statue  in  the  world. 

1  This  pyramid  rises  from  a  base  covering  13  acres  to  a  height  of  450  feet.  According 
to  Herodotus,  Cheops  employed  100,000  men  for  twenty  years  in  its  erection. 


Fig.  10.  Khufu,  Builder  of  the  Great 
PvRAMin.  (From  VeXxie'sAbyiios,  Part  II) 

Though  only  a  minute  figure  in  ivory,  it  shows 

a   character   of    immense    energy   and    will :  the 

face  is  an  astonishing  portrait  to  be  expressed  in 

a  quarter  of  an  inch.  —  Pktrie 


§21]  EIGHTEENTH  AND  NINETEENTH  DYNASTIES    17 

These  sepulchral  monuments,  for  the  pyramids  were  the  tombs 
of  the  Pharaohs  who  constructed  them,  and  the  great  Sphinx  are 
the  most  venerable  memorials  of  the  early  world  of  culture  that 
have  been  preserved  to  us. 

21.  The  Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Dynasties  (about  1580- 
1205  B.C.)-  It  is  the  deeds  and  architectural  works  of  the 
Pharaohs  of  these  two  celebrated  dynasties  that  have  contributed 
largely  to  give  Egypt  her  great  name  and  place  in  history.  The 
most  famous  ruler  of  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty  was  Rameses  II,  the 
Sesostris  of  the  Greeks.    The  chief  of  Rameses'  wars  were  those 


Fk;.  i[.    Brkk-Makin'g  in  Ancient  Egypt.   ( From  Thebes) 


against  the  Kheta,  the  Hittites  of  the  Bible,  who  at  this  time  were 
maintaining  an  extensive  empire,  embracing  in  the  main  the  in- 
terior uplands  of  Asia  Minor  and  northern  Syria.^  We  find 
Rameses  at  last  concluding  with  them  a  celebrated  treaty  of  peace 
and  alliance,  in  which  the  chief  of  the  Hittites  is  formally  recog- 
nized as  in  every  respect  the  equal  of  the  Pharaoh  of  Egypt. 
The  meaning  of  this  alliance  was  that  the  Pharaohs  had  met  their 
peers  in  the  princes  of  the  Hittites,  and  that  they  could  no  longer 
hope  to  become  masters  of  western  Asia. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  some  scholars  that  this  Rameses  II  was  the 
oppressor  of  the  children  of  Israel,  the  Pharaoh  who  "made  their 
lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage,  in  mortar  and  in  brick,  and  in  all 
manner  of  service  in  the  field,"  and  that  what  is  known  as  the 
Exodus  took  place  in  the  reign  of  his  successor. 

'  We  know  very  little  about  this  people,  save  that  for  several  centuries  they  divided 
with  Egypt  and  Assyria  the  dominion  of  western  Asia.  They  had  a  system  of  writing, 
the  key  to  which  has  not  vet  been  discovered. 


1 8  ANCIENT  EGYPT  [§  22 

22.  The  Last  of  the  Native  Pharaohs.    Before  the  end  of  the 

Twenty-sixth  Dynasty,  about  six  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
Egypt,  her  power  having  greatly  declined,  became  tributary  to 
Babylon,  and  a  little  later  bowed  beneath  the  Persian  yoke.  From 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  b.c.  to  the  present  day  no 
native  prince  has  sat  upon  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs. 

"The  mission  of  Egypt  among  the  nations  was  fulfilled ;  it  had 
lit  the  torch  of  civilization  in  ages  inconceivably  remote,  and  had 
passed  it  on  to  other  peoples  of  the  West." 

II.  RELIGION,  ARTS,  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE 

23.  The  Egyptian  System  of  Writing.  Perhaps  the  greatest 
achievement  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  was  the  working  out  of  a 
system  of  writing.    ]\Iore  than  four  thousand  years  before  Christ 

VUi.    12.     FoK.MS    OK    lUiVi'Tl.AN    WkH'I.NC 
The  top  line  is  hieroglyphic  scrijjt ;  the  l)ottoni  hne  is  tiic  same  text  in  hieratic 

they  had  developed  a  very  curious  and  complex  system,  which 
was  partly  picture  writing  and  partly  alphabetic' 

The  chief  writing  material  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  was 
the  noted  papyrus  paper,  manufactured  from  a  reed  which  grew 
in  the  marshes  and  along  the  water  channels  of  the  Nile.  From 
the  Greek  names  of  this  Egyptian  plant,  byblos  and  papyrus, 
come  our  words  Bible  and  paper. 

1  Just  as  we  have  two  forms  of  letters,  one  for  printing  and  another  for  writing,  so 
the  Kgyptians  employed  three  forms  of  script :  the  ///Vn)(,7i////V,  in  which  the  pictures 
and  symbols  were  carefully  flrawn  —  a  form  generally  employed  in  monumental  inscri[)- 
tions  ;  the  hinutic,  a  simplified  form  of  the  hieroglyphic,  adapted  to  writing,  and  forming 
the  greater  part  of  the  papyrus  manuscripts  ;  and  later  a  still  simpler  form  developed 
from  the  hieratic,  and  called  by  the  Greeks  demotic,  that  is,  the  ordinary  writing  (from 
demos,  "  the  people  "). 


§24] 


THE  ROSETTA  STONE 


19 


Fig.  13.    The  Rosetta 
Stone 


24.  The  Rosetta  Stone  and  the  Key  to  Egyptian  Writing. 
The  first  key  to  the  Egyptian  writing  was  discovered  by  means 
of  the  Rosetta  Stone,  which  was  found  by  the  French  when  they 
invaded  Egypt  in  1798.  This  precious  relic,  a  heavy  block  of  black 
basalt,  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  It  holds  an  inscription  in 
the  Egyptian  and  the  Greek  language,  which  is  written  in  three 
different  forms  of  script.  The  chief  credit  of  deciphering  the 
Egyptian  script  and  of  opening  up  the 
long-sealed  secrets  of  the  Egyptian 
monuments  is  commonly  allotted  to  the 
French  scholar  Champollion. 

25.  The  Egyptian  Gods.  Chief  of 
the  great  Egyptian  deities  was  the 
sun-god  Ra  (or  Re),  from  whom  the 
Pharaohs  claimed  descent.  He  was 
imagined  as  sailing  across  the  heavens 
in  a  sacred  bark  on  a  celestial  river, 
and  at  night  returning  to  the  east  through  subterranean  water 
passages — an   adventurous    and    danger-beset    voyage. 

The  good  Osiris,  a  beloved  deity  of  many  attributes  and  many 
fables,  was,  it  seems,  at  first  worshiped  as  the  spirit  or  god  of 
vegetation,  but  later  he  came  to  be  conceived  of  as  judge  and  ruler 
in  the  realms  of  the  dead.  Set,  the  Typhon  of  Greek  writers,  was 
the  Satan  of  later  Egyptian  mythology.  Besides  the  greater  gods 
there  was  a  multitude  of  lesser  deities,  each  district  and  village 
having  its  local  god  or  gods. 

26.  Animal  Worship.  The  Egyptians  believed  some  animals 
to  be  incarnations  of  a  god  descended  from  heaven.  Thus  a  god 
was  thought  to  animate  the  body  of  some  particular  bull,  which 
might  be  known  from  certain  spots  or  markings.  Upon  the  death 
of  the  sacred  bull,  or  Apis,  as  he  was  called,  the  body  was  carefullv 
embalmed  and,  amid  funeral  ceremonies  of  great  expense  and 
magnificence,  laid  away  in  a  huge  granite  sarcophagus  in  the 
tomb  of  his  predecessors. 

Not  only  were  individual  animals  held  sacred  and  worshiped  but 
sometimes  whole  species,  for  example  the  cat,  were  regarded  as 


20 


ANCIENT  EGYPT 


[§27 


Fi(..  14.   Mi'iMMV  OF  A  Sacred  Blll 
(From  a  photograph) 


sacred.  To  kill  one  of  these  animals  was  thought  the  greatest 
impiety.  IMany  explanations  have  been  given  to  account  for  the 
existence  of  such  a  debased  form  of  worship  among  a  people  so 

cultured  as  were  the  ancient 
Egyptians.  Probably  the  sa- 
cred animals  in  the  later  wor- 
ship simply  represent  an  early 
crude  stage  of  the  Egyptian 
religion. 

27.  Ideas  of  the  Future 
Life;  the  Mummy.  Among 
no  other  people  of  antiquity 
did  the  life  beyond  the  tomb 
seem  so  real  and  hold  so  large 
a  place  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
living  as  among  the  Egyptians.  They  thought  that  the  welfare  of 
the  soul  in  the  hereafter  was  dependent  upon  the  preservation  of 
the  body ;  hence  the  anxious  care  with  which  they  sought  to 
protect  the  body  against  decay  by  embalming  it. 

In  the  various  processes  of  em- 
balming, use  was  made  of  oils, 
resins,  bitumen,  and  various  aro- 
matic gums.  The  bodies  of  the 
wealthy  were  preserved  by  being 
filled  with  costly  aromatic  and 
resinous  substances,  and  swathed 
in  bandages  of  linen.  To  a  body 
thus  treated  is  applied  the  term 
mummy. 

To  this  practice  of  the  Egyp- 
tians of  embalming  their  dead  we 
owe  it  that  we  can  look  upon 
the  actual  faces  of  many  of  the 
ancient  Pharaohs.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  last  century  (in  1881)  the  mummies  of  nearly  all 
the   Pharaohs  of   the   Eighteenth,    Nineteenth,    Twentieth,   and 


Y\r,.  15.  Pkofii.k  of  Rameses  II 

(From  a  photograph  of  the  mummy) 


§28] 


THE  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  DEAD 


it 


Twenty-first  Dynasties  were  found  in  a  secret  rock  chamber  near 
Thebes.  The  faces  of  many  are  so  remarkably  preserved  that,  in 
the  words  of  Maspero,  ''were  their  subjects  to  return  to  the  earth 
today  they  could  not  fail  to  recognize  their  old  sovereigns." 

28.  The  Judgment  of  the  Dead  and  the  Negative  Confession. 
Death  was  a  great  equalizer  among  the  Egyptians ;  king  and 
peasant  alike  must  appear  before  the  dread  tribunal  of  Osiris,  the 
judge  of  the  underworld,  and  render  an  account  of  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body.  Here  the  soul  sought  justification  in  such  declarations 
as  these,  which  form  what  is  called  the  Negative  Confession :  "  I 


Fig.  i6.    The  Judgment  of  the  Dead.   (From  a  papyrus) 

Showing  the  weighing  of  the  heart  of  the  deceased  in  the  scales  of  truth 


have  not  blasphemed";  "I  have  not  stolen";  "I  have  not  slain 
anyone  treacherously";  "I  have  not  slandered  anyone  or  made 
false  accusation."  In  other  declarations  of  the  soul  we  find  a 
singularly  close  approach  to  Christian  morality,  as  for  instance 
in  this:  "I  have  given  bread  to  the  hungry  and  drink  to  him  who 
was  athirst ;  I  have  clothed  the  naked  with  garments." 

The  truth  of  what  the  soul  thus  asserted  in  its  own  behalf  was 
tested  by  the  balances  of  the  gods.  In  one  of  the  scales  was 
placed  the  heart  of  the  deceased  ;  in  the  other,  a  feather,  the  symbol 
of  truth  or  righteousness.  The  soul  stood  by  watching  the  weigh- 
ing. If  the  heart  were  found  not  light,  the  soul  was  welcomed  to 
the  companionship  of  the  good  Osiris.  The  unjustified  were  sent 
to  a  place  of  torment  or  were  thrown  to  a  monster  to  be  devoured. 


22  AXXIENT  EGYPT  [§29 

29.  Architecture,  Sculpture,  and  Minor  Arts.  In  the  building 
art  the  ancient  Egyptians,  in  some  respects,  have  never  been  sur- 
passed. The  Memphian  pyramids  built  by  the  earlier,  and  the 
Theban  temples  raised  by  the  later,  Pharaohs  have  excited  the 
astonishment  and  the  admiration  alike  of  all  the  successive  genera- 
tions that  have  looked  upon  them. 

In  the  cutting  and  shaping  of  enormous  blocks  of  the  hardest 
stone,  the  Egyptians  achieved  results  which  modern  stonecutters 
can  scarcely  equal.  "It  is  doubtful,"  says  the  historian  Rawlinson, 
"whether  the  steam-sawing  of  the  present  day  could  be  trusted 
to  produce  in  ten  years  from  the  quarries  of  Aberdeen  a  single 
obelisk  such  as  those  which  the  Pharaohs  set  up  by  dozens." 

Egyptian  sculpture  was  at  its  best  in  the  earliest  period ;  that 
it  became  so  imitative  and  the  figures  so  conventional  and  rigid 
was  due  to  the  influence  of  religion.  The  artist,  in  the  portrayal 
of  the  figures  of  the  gods,  was  not  allowed  to  change  a  single  line 
of  the  sacred  form. 

In  many  of  the  minor  arts  the  Egyptians  attained  a  surprisingly 
high  degree  of  excellence.  They  were  able  in  coloring  glass  to 
secure  tints  as  brilliant  and  beautiful  as  any  which  modern  art 
has  been  able  to  produce.  In  goldsmith's  work  they  showed 
wonderful  skill. 

It  should  be  noted  here  that  it  was  especially  in  the  domain 
of  art  that  the  influence  of  Egypt  was  exerted  upon  contemporary 
civilizations.  Until  the  full  development  of  Greek  art,  Egyptian 
art  reigned  over  the  world  in  somewhat  the  same  way  that  Greek 
art  has  reigned  since  the  Golden  Age  of  Greece.  Its  influence  can 
be  traced  in  the  architecture,  the  sculpture,  and  the  decorative  art 
of  all  the  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean  lands. 

30.  The  Sciences :  Astronomy,  Geometry,  and  Medicine. 
The  cloudless  and  brilliant  skies  of  Egypt  invited  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Nile  valley  to  the  study  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  And 
another  circumstance  closely  related  to  their  very  existence — 
the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  following  the  changing  seasons — 
could  not  but  have  incited  them  to  the  watching  and  recording 
of  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.    Their  observations  led 


§31]    EGYPT'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  CIVILIZATION       23 

them  to  discover  the  length,  very  nearly,  of  the  solar  year,  which 
they  divided  into  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each,  with  a  festival 
period  of  live  days  at  the  end  of  the  year.  This  was  the  calendar 
that,  with  minor  changes,  Julius  Caesar  introduced  into  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  which,  slightly  reformed  by  Pope  Gregory  XIII,  in 
1582,  has  been  the  system  employed  by  almost  all  the  civilized 
world  up  to  the  present  day  (sect.  290). 

The  Greeks  accounted  for  the  early  rise  of  the  science  of 
geometry  among  the  Egyptians  by  the  necessity  they  were  under 
of  reestablishing  each  year  the  boundaries  of  their  fields — the 
inundation  obliterating  old  landmarks  and  divisions.  The  science 
thus  forced  upon  their  attention  was  cultivated  with  zeal  and 
success.  The  work  of  the  Greek  scholars  in  this  field  was  based 
on  that  done  by  the  Egyptians. 

The  Egyptian  physicians  relied  largely  on  magic,  for  every  ail- 
ment was  supposed  to  be  caused  by  a  demon  that  must  be  expelled 
by  means  of  magical  rites  and  incantations.  But  they  also  used 
drugs  of  various  kinds ;  the  ciphers  or  characters  employed  by 
modern  apothecaries  to  designate  grains  and  drams  are  believed 
to  be  of  Egyptian  invention. 

31.  Egypt's  Contribution  to  Civilization.  Egypt,  we  thus  see, 
made  valuable  gifts  to  civilization.  From  the  Nile  came  the  germs 
of  much  found  in  the  later  cultures  of  the  peoples  of  western  Asia 
and  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  through  their  agency  in  that 
of  the  modern  world.  "We  are  the  heirs  of  the  civilized  past," 
says  Professor  Sayce,  "and  a  goodly  portion  of  that  civilized  past 
was  the  creation  of  ancient  Egypt." 

References.  Brea.stkd,  J.  II.,  A  History  of  Egypt,  A  I/istoiy  of  the  Ancient 
Egvpiians,  and  Development  of  Religion  ami  Thought  in  Ancient  Egypt.  Mas- 
PERO,  G.,  The  Dawn  of  Civilization,  chaps,  i-vi ;  The  Struggle  of  the  Amotions, 
chaps,  i-v;  and  Manual  of  Egyptian  Archaology.  Rawlinson,  G.,  History  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  2  vols.,  and  Stoiy  of  Ancient  Egypt.  Baikie,  J.,  The  Stoty  of 
the  Pharaohs.  Wiedemann,  A.,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians.  Wilkinson, 
Sir  J.  G.,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians  (should  be  used 
with  caution  —  portions  are  antiquated).  Erman,  A.,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt. 
Bimh;k,  K.  a.  W.,  Egyptian  Religion  and  Egyptian  Ideas  of  the  Euturc  Life. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

I.  THE  EARLY  CITY-KIXGDOMS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  THE 
OLD  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE 

32.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates  Valley  ;  the  Upper  and  the 
Lower  Country.  As  in  the  case  of  Egypt,  so  in  that  of  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  valley,'  the  physical  features  of  the  country  exerted 
a  great  influence  upon  the  history  of  its  ancient  peoples.  Dif- 
ferences in  geological  structure  divide  this  region  into  an  upper 
and  a  lower  district ;  and  this  twofold  division  in  natural  features 
is  reflected,  as  we  shall  see,  throughout  its  political  history.  The 
northern  part  of  the  valley,  the  portion  that  comprised  ancient 
Assyria,  consists  of  undulating  plains,  broken  in  places  by  moun- 
tain ridges.  This  region  nourished  a  hardy  and  warlike  race,  and 
became  the  seat  of  a  great  military  empire. 

The  southern  part  of  the  valley,  the  part  known  as  Babylonia, 
is,  like  the  Delta  region  of  Egypt,  an  alluvial  deposit.    The  making 

NoTK.  Jhc  picture  at  the  head  of  this  page  shows  the  Rabil  Mound,  at  Babylon,  as 
it  appeared  in  iSi  i. 

'  The  ancient  fireeks  gave  to  the  land  embraced  by  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates 
the  name  of  Afcsof-olamia,  which  means  literally  "  the  land  between  or  amidst  th? 
rivers."   The  name  is  often  loosely  applied  to  the  whole  Tigris-Euphrates  valley. 

24 


§  33]  THE  AGE  OF  CITY-KINGDOMS  25 

of  new  land  by  the  rivers  has  gone  on  steadily  during  historic 
times.  The  ruins  of  one  of  the  ancient  seaports  of  the  country 
(Eridu)  lie  over  a  hundred  miles  inland  from  the  present  head  of 
the  Persian  Gulf.  In  ancient  times  much  of  the  land  was  pro- 
tected against  the  overflow  of  the  rivers  in  seasons  of  freshet, 
and  watered  in  seasons  of  drought,  by  a  stupendous  system  of 
dikes  and  canals,  which  at  the  present  day,  in  a  ruined  and  sand- 
choked  condition,  cover  like  a  network  the  face  of  the  country. 


Fk;.  18.   ANciiiXT  Babylonian  CaiXAl 

The  productions  of  Babylonia  are  very  like  those  of  the  Nile 
valley.  The  luxuriant  growth  of  grain  upon  these  alluvial  flats 
excited  the  wonder  of  the  Greek  travelers  who  visited  the  East. 
Herodotus  will  not  tell  the  whole  truth  for  fear  his  veracity  may  be 
doubted.  This  favored  plain  in  a  remote  period  of  antiquity  became 
the  seat  of  an  agricultural,  industrial,  and  commercial  population 
among  which  the  arts  of  civilized  life  found  a  development  which 
possibly  was  as  old  as  that  of  Egypt,  and  which  ran  parallel  with  it. 

33.  The  Age  of  City-Kingdoms.  When  the  light  of  history 
first  falls  upon  the  Mesopotamian  lands,  about  3000  B.C.,  it  reveals 
the  lower  river  plain  filled  with  independent  walled  cities  like  those 


26 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


[§34 


which  we  find  later  in  Palestine,  (ireece,  and  Italy.  Each  city 
had  its  patron  god,  and  was  ruled  by  a  prince  bearing  the  title 
of  king  or  lord. 

From  the  tablets  of  the  old  Babylonian  temple  archives  (sect. 
36),  patient  scholars  are  slowly  deciphering  the  wonderful  story 
of  these  ancient  cities.  The  political  side  of  their  history  may, 
for  our  present  purpose,  be  summarized  by  saying  that  for  a 
period  of  two  thousand  years  and  more  their  records,  so  far  as 
they  have  become  known  to  us,  are  annals  of  wars  waged  for 

supremacy  by  one  city 
and  its  gods  against 
other  cities  and  their 
gods. 

Of  all  the  kings 
whose  names  have 
been  recovered  from 
the  monuments  we 
shall  here  mention 
only  one — Sargon  I 
(about  2800  B.C.),  a 
Semitic  king  of  Akkad,  whose  reign  forms  a  great  landmark  in 
early  Babylonian  annals.  He  built  up  a  powerful  state  in  Baby- 
lonia and  carried  his  arms  to  "the  land  of  the  setting  sun"  (Syria). 
34.  The  Rise  of  Babylon ;  the  Old  Babylonian  Empire. 
Among  these  cities  of  the  plain  was  the  great  Babylon,  whose  name 
is  a  household  word  throughout  the  world  today.  Gradually 
rising  into  prominence,  this  city  gave  to  the  whole  country  the 
name  by  which  it  is  best  known  —  Babylonia. 

For  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  Babylon  was  the  political 
and  commercial  center  of  what  is  known  as  the  Old  Babylonian 
Empire,  a  state  of  varying  fortunes,  of  changing  dynasties,  and 
of  shifting  frontiers.  Meanwhile  a  new  Semitic  power  had  been 
slowly  developing  in  the  north.  This  was  the  Assyrian  Empire, 
the  later  center  and  capital  of  which  was  the  great  city  of  Nineveh. 
Finally  Babylonia  was  conquered  by  an  Assyrian  king  and  passed 
under  Assyrian  control  (728  b.c). 


Fig.  ig.  Impression'  of  a  Seal  of  Sakgox  I 
(Date  about  2800  b.c.) 

Must  be  ranked  among  the   masterpieces   of   oriental 
enffravintr.  —  Masi'HKo 


§35]      REMAINS  OF  BABYLONIAN  STRUCTURES         27 

35.  Remains  of  the  Babylonian  Cities  and  Public  Buildings. 
The  Babylonian  plains  are  dotted  with  enormous  mounds,  gen- 
erally inclosed  by  vast  ramparts  of  earth.  These  heaps  are  the 
remains  of  the  great  mud-walled  cities,  the  palaces,  and  shrines 
of  the  ancient  Babylonians.  About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  some  mounds  of  the  upper  country  were  excavated,  and 
the  world  was  astonished  to  see  rising  as  from  the  tomb  the  palaces 
of  the  great  Assyrian  kings.  This  was  the  beginning  of  excavations 
and  discoveries  in  the  Mesopotamian  lands  which  during  the  past 
half  century  have  recovered  the  history  of  long-forgotten  empires, 
reconstructed  the  history  of  the  Orient,  and  given  us  a  new 
beginning  for  universal  history. 

36.  Cuneiform  Writing.  From  the  earliest  period  known  to 
us,  the  Babylonians  were  in  possession  of  a  system  of  writing.    To 

-Til  -r 

Fig.  20.   CuxEiFOKM  Writing 

Translation :  "  Five  thousand  mighty  cedars  I  spread  for  its  roof  " 

this  system  the  term  cuneiform  (from  cuneus,  a  "wedge")  has 
been  given  on  account  of  its  wedge-shaped  characters.  The  signs 
assumed  this  peculiar  form  from  being  impressed  upon  soft  clay 
tablets  with  an  angular  writing  instrument.  This  system  of  writ- 
ing had  been  developed  out  of  an  earlier  system  of  picture  writing. 
The  Babylonians  never  developed  the  system  beyond  the  syllabic 
stage  (sect.  10).  They  used  four  or  five  hundred  syllable  signs. ^ 
This  mode  of  writing  was  in  use  among  the  peoples  of  western 
Asia  from  before  3000  B.C.  down  to  the  first  century  of  our  era. 
Thus  for  three  thousand  years  it  was  just  such  an  important  factor 
in  the  earlier  civilizations  of  the  ancient  world  as  the  Phoenician 
alphabet   in   its   various   forms   has   been   during   the   last   three 

1  The  Persians  at  a  much  later  time  borrowed  the  system  and  developed  it  into  a 
purely  alphabetic  one.   Their  alphabet  consisted  of  thirty-si.\  characters. 


28  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA  l§  :->7 

thousand  years  in  the  civilizations  of  all  the  peoples  of  culture, 
save  those  of  eastern  Asia,  who  use  systems  developed  from  the 
C'hinese  (sect.  77). 

The  writing  material  of  the  Babylonians  was  usually  clay 
tablets  of  various  sizes.  The  tablets  were  carefully  preserved  in 
great  public  archives,  which  sometimes  formed  an  adjunct  of  the 
lemple  of  some  specially  revered  deity. 

37.  The  Religion.  The  Babylonians,  like  the  Egyptians,  were 
worshipers  of  many  gods.  The  god-group  embraced  powerful 
nature  gods,  local  city  deities,  and  a  multitude  of  lesser  gods. 

The  most  prominent  feature  from  first  to  last  of  the  popular 
religion  was  a  belief  in  spirits,  particularly  in  wicked  spirits,  and 
the  practice  of  magic  rites  and  incantations  to  avert  the  evil 
influence  of  these  demons.  A  second  most  important  feature  of 
the  religion  was  what  is  known  as  astrology,  or  the  foretelling  of 
events  by  the  aspect  of  the  planets  and  stars.  The  Chaldean 
astrologers  were  famed  throughout  the  ancient  world. 

Alongside  these  low  beliefs  and  superstitious  practices  there 
existed,  however,  higher  and  purer  elements.  This  is  best  illus- 
trated by  the  so-called  penitential  psalms,  which  breathe  a  spirit 
like  that  of  the  penitential  psalms  of  the  Old  Testament. 

38.  Legislation:  the  Code  of  Hammurabi.  In  1901-1902 
French  excavators  at  Susa,  in  the  ancient  Elam,  discovered  a  block 
of  stone  upon  which  was  inscribed  the  code  of  laws  set  up  by 
Hammurabi,  king  of  Babylon,  more  than  two  thousand  years  B.C. 
This  is  the  oldest  sytem  of  laws  known  to  us.  It  is,  in  the  main, 
merely  a  collection  of  earlier  laws  and  ancient  customs. 

The  code  casts  a  strong  side  light  uj)on  the  Babylonian  life  of 
the  period  when  it  was  compiled,  and  thus  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  valuable  monuments  spared  to  us  from  the  old  Semitic  world. 
It  defined  the  rights  and  duties  of  husband  and  wife,  master  and 
slave,  of  merchants,  gardeners,  tenants,  shepherds — of  all  the 
classes  which  made  up  the  population  of  the  Babylonian  Empire. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  later  Hebrew  code,  the  principle  of  retaliation 
determined  the  penalty  for  injury  done  another ;  it  was  an  eye 
for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth. 


§39]  BABYLONIAN  SCIENCES  29 

For  more  than  two  thousand  years  after  its  compilation  this 
code  of  laws  was  in  force  in  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  empires, 
and  even  after  this  lapse  of  time  it  was  used  as  a  textbook  in  the 
schools  of  the  Mesopotamian  lands.  Probably  no  other  code  save 
the  IMosaic  or  the  Justinian  (sect.  389)  has  exerted  a  greater 
influence  upon  human  society. 

39.  Sciences:  Astronomy,  the  Calendar,  and  Mathematics. 
In  astronomy  the  Babylonians  made  greater  advance  than  the 
Egyptians.  Their  knowledge  of  the  heavens  came  about  from 
their  interest  as  astrologers  in  the  stars.  They  divided  the  zodiac 
into  twelve  signs  and  named  its  constellations,  a  memorial  of  their 
astronomical  attainments  which  will  remain  forever  inscribed  upon 
the  great  circle  of  the  heavens  ;  they  foretold  eclipses  of  the  sun 
and  moon ;  they  invented  the  sundial ;  they  divided  the  year  into 
twelve  months,  the  day  and  night  into  hours,  and  the  hours  into 
minutes,  and  devised  a  week  of  seven  days.^ 

In  the  mathematical  sciences,  also,  the  Babylonians  made  con- 
siderable advance.  The  duodecimal  system  in  numbers  was  their 
invention,  and  it  is  from  them  that  the  system  has  come  to  us. 
They  devised  measures  of  length,  weight,  and  capacity.  It  was 
from  them  that  all  the  peoples  of  antiquity  derived  their  systems 
of  weight  and  measure.  Aside  from  letters,  these  are  perhaps  the 
most  indispensable  agents  in  the  life  of  a  people  after  they  have 
risen  above  the  lowest  levels  of  barbarism. 

II.  THE  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE 

40.  Introduction.  The  story  of  Assyria  is  in  the  main  a  story 
of  the  Assyrian  kings.  And  it  is  a  story  of  ruthless  war,  which 
made  the  Assyrian  kings  the  scourge  of  antiquity.  To  relate  this 
story  with  any  measure  of  detail  would  involve  endless  repetition 
of  the  royal  records  of  pillaging  raids  and  punitive  campaigns  in 
all  the  countries  of  western  Asia.  We  shall  'therefore  merely  men- 
tion two  or  three  of  the  great  kings  of  the  later  empire  whose 
names  live  among  the  renowned  personages  of  the  ancient  world. 

1  This  week  of  seven  days  was  a  subdivision  of  the  moon-month,  based  on  the  phases 
of  the  moon,  namely,  new  moon,  first  c^uarter,  fuU  moon,  and  last  quarter. 


30  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA  [§  41 

41.  Sargon  II  (722-705  B.C.).  Sargon  II  was  a  great  conqueror. 
In  722  B.C.  he  captured  Samaria  and  carried  away  the  most  in- 
tluential  classes  of  the  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel  into  captivity  (sect.  56). 
The  greater  portion  of  the  captives  were  scattered  among  the  towns 
of  Media  and  Mesopotamia,  and  probably  became,  for  the  most 
part,  merged  with  the  population  of  those  regions. 

42.  Sennacherib  (705-681  B.C.).  To  Sennacherib,  the  son  of 
Sargon,  we  must  accord  the  first  place  of  renown  among  the 
Assyrian  kings.  His  name,  connected  as  it  is  with  the  history  of 
Jerusalem  and  with  the  wonderful  discoveries  among  the  ruined 
palaces  of  Nineveh,  has  become  as  familiar  as  that  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar in  the  story  of  Babylon.  His  reign  was  filled  with  military 
expeditions  and  marked  by  great  building  enterprises  at  Nineveh. 
Respecting  the  decoration  of  this  capital,  one  of  his  inscriptions 
says :  "I  raised  again  all  the  edifices  of  Nineveh,  my  royal  city ; 
I  reconstructed  all  its  old  streets,  and  widened  those  that  were 
too  narrow.    I  made  the  whole  town  a  city  shining  like  the  sun." 

43.  The  Fall  of  Nineveh  (6O6  B.C.).  A  ruler  named  by  the 
Greek  writers  Saracus  was  the  last  of  the  long  line  of  Assyrian 
kings.  For  nearly  or  quite  six  centuries  the  Ninevite  kings  had 
now  lorded  it  over  the  East.  There  was  scarcely  a  state  in  all 
western  Asia  that  during  this  time  had  not,  in  the  language  of  the 
royal  inscriptions,  "borne  the  heavy  yoke  of  their  lordship"; 
scarcely  a  people  that  had  not  suffered  their  cruel  punishments  or 
tasted  the  bitterness  of  enforced  exile. 

But  now  swift  misfortunes  were  bearing  down  from  every 
quarter  upon  the  oppressor.  Egypt  revolted  and  tore  Syria  away 
from  the  empire.  In  the  southern  lowlands  the  Babylonians  also 
rose  in  revolt,  while  from  the  mountain  defiles  on  the  east  issued 
the  armies  of  the  recent-grown  empire  of  the  Aryan  Medes  and 
laid  close  siege  to  Nineveh.  The  city  was  finally  taken  and  sacked, 
and  dominion  passed  away  forever  from  the  proud  capital 
(606  B.C.).  Two  hundred  years  later,  when  Xenophon  with  his 
Ten  Thousand  (ireeks,  in  his  memorable  retreat  (sect.  162  ),  passed 
the  spot,  the  once  great  city  was  a  crumbling  mass  of  ruins  and 
its  name  had  been  forgotten. 


§44]  ASSYRIAN  EXCAVATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES     31 

44.  Assyrian  Excavations  and  Discoveries.  In  1843- 1844 
M.  Botta,  the  French  consul  resident  at  Mosul  on  the  Tigris, 
excavated  a  great  palace-mound  some  distance  from  the  site  of 
old  Nineveh,  and  astonished  the  world  with  most  wonderful 
specimens  of  Assyrian  art  from  the  palace  of  Sargon  II.  The 
sculptured  and  lettered  slabs  were  removed  to   the  museum  of 


^-^-^tt    J, 


Fig.  21.   Excavating  AX  Assyrian  Palace.   {Aiter  Layard) 


the  Louvre,  in  Paris.  A  little  later  Austen  Henry  Layard,  an 
English  archaeologist,  disentombed  the  palace  of  Sennacherib 
and  those  of  other  kings  at  Nineveh  and  Calah  (the  earliest  capital 
of  the  Assyrian  kingdom),  and  enriched  the  British  Museum  with 
the  treasures  of  his  search. 

In  the  ruins  of  one  of  the  palaces  at  Nineveh  was  discovered 
what  is  known  as  the  Royal  Library,  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant library  of  the  old  Semitic  world,  from  which  over  twenty 
thousand  tablets  were  taken.  The  greater  part  of  the  tablets  were 
copies  of  older  Babylonian  works ;  for  the  literature  of  the  As- 
syrians, as  well  as  their  arts  and  sciences,  was  borrowed  almost 
in  a  body  from  the  Babylonians. 


32 


BAB\T0NIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


[§45 


45.  Cruelty  of  the  Assyrians.  The  Assyrians  have  been  called 
the  "  Romans  of  Asia."  They  were  a  proud,  warlike,  and  cruel 
race.  The  Assyrian  kings  seem  to  have  surpassed  all  others  in 
the  cruelty  which  characterizes  the  warfare  of  the  whole  ancient 
Orient.  The  sculptured  marbles  of  their  palaces  exhibit  the 
hideously  cruel  tortures  inflicted  by  them  upon  prisoners  (Fig.  22). 
A  royal  inscription  which  is  a  fair  specimen  of  many  others  runs 
as  follows:  "The  nobles,  as  many  as  had  revolted,  I  flayed  ;  .  .  . 
Three  thousand  of  their  captives  I  burned  with  fire.  ...    I  cut 


Fio.  22.    Assyrians  Flaying  Prisoners  Alive.   (From  a  bas-rclicf) 


off  the  hands  [and]  feet  of  some;  I  cut  off  the  noses,  the  ears 
[and I  the  fingers  of  others;  the  eyes  of  the  numerous  soldiers 
I  put  out.  .  .  .  Their  young  men  [and]  their  maidens  I  burned 
as  a  holocaust."  The  significant  thing  here  is  that  the  king  exults 
in  having  done  these  things  and  thinks  to  immortalize  himself  by 
portraying  them  upon  imperishable  stone. 

46.  Services  rendered  Civilization  by  Assyria.  Assyria  did 
a  work  like  that  done  by  Rome  at  a  later  time.  Just  as  Rome 
welded  all  the  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean  world  into  a  great 
empire,  and  then  throughout  her  vast  domains  scattered  the  seeds 
of  the  civilization  which  she  had  borrowed  from  vanquished  Greece, 
so  did  Assyria  weld  into  a  great  empire  the  innumerable  petty  war- 
ring states  and  tribes  of  western  Asia,  and  then  throughout  her 
extended  dominions  spread  the  civilization  which  she  had  in  the 
main  borrowed  from  the  conquered  Babylonians. 


§  47]        BABYLON  BECOMES  A  GREAT  POWER  33 

III.  THE  CHALDEAN  OR  NEW  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE 

(625-538  B.C.) 

47.  Babylon  becomes  again  a  Great  Power.  Nabopolassar 
(625-605  B.C.)  was  the  founder  of  what  is  known  as  ihe  Chaldean 
or  New  Babylonian  Empire.  At  first  a  vassal  of  the  Assyrian  king, 
when  troubles  began  to  thicken  about  the  Assyrian  court,  he 
revolted  and  became  independent.  With  the  break-up  of  the 
Assyrian  Empire,  the  Babylonian  kingdom  received  large  acces- 
sions of  territory.  For  a  short  time  thereafter  Babylon  held  a 
great  place  in  history. 

48.  Nebuchadnezzar  II  (605-56i  B.C.).  Nabopolassar  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  son  Nebuchadnezzar,  whose  renown  filled  the  ancient 
world.  One  important  event  of  his  reign  was  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Jerusalem.  The  city  was  pillaged  and  its  walls  were  thrown 
down.  The  temple  was  stripped  of  its  sacred  vessels  of  silver  and 
gold,  which  were  carried  away  to  Babylon,  and  the  temple  itself 
was  given  to  the  flames ;  a  part  of  the  people  were  also  carried 
away  into  the  "Great  Captivity"  (586  B.C.). 

Nebuchadnezzar  rivaled  even  the  Pharaohs  in  the  execution  of 
immense  works  requiring  vast  expenditures  of  human  labor. 
Among  his  works  were  the  Great  Palace  in  the  royal  quarter  of 
Babylon,  the  celebrated  Hanging  Gardens/  and  the  City  Walls. 
The  gardens  and  the  walls  were  reckoned  among  the  seven  wonders 
of  the  ancient  world. 

Especially  zealous  was  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  erection  and 
restoration  of  the  shrines  of  the  gods.  "Like  dear  life,"  runs 
one  of  the  inscriptions,  "love  I  the  building  of  their  lodging 
places."  He  dwells  with  fondness  on  all  the  details  of  the  work, 
and  tells  how  he  ornamented  the  panelings  of  the  shrines  with 
precious  stones,  roofed  them  with  huge  beams  of  cedar  overlaid 

1  The  Hanging  Gardens  were  constructed  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  please  his  wife 
Amytis,  who,  tired  of  the  monotony  of  the  Babylonian  plains,  longed  for  the  mountain 
scenery  of  her  native  Media.  The  gardens  were  probably  built  somewhat  in  the  form 
of  the  tower  temples,  the  successive  stages  being  covered  with  earth  and  beautified 
with  plants  and  trees,  so  as  to  simulate  the  appearance  of  a  mountain  rising  in  cultivated 
terraces  toward  the  sky. 


34  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA  L§  49 

with  gold  and  silver,  and  decorated  the  gates  with  plates  of  bronze, 
making  the  sacred  abodes  as  "bright  as  the  stars  of  heaven." 

49.  The  Fall  of  Babylon  (538  B.C.).  The  glory  of  the  New 
Babylonian  Empire  passed  away  with  Nebuchadnezzar.  Among 
the  mountains  and  on  the  uplands  to  the  east  of  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  valley  there  had  been  growing  up  an  Aryan  kingdom. 
At  the  time  which  we  have  now  reached,  this  state,  through  the 
destruction  of  the  Assyrian  Empire  and  the  absorption  of  its  prov- 
inces, had  grown  into  a  great  imperial  power — the  Medo-Persian. 
At  the  head  of  this  new  empire  was  Cyrus,  a  strong,  energetic,  and 
ambitious  sovereign  (sect.  66).  Coming  into  collision  with  the 
Babylonian  king  Nabonidus  he  defeated  his  army  in  the  open 
field,  and  the  gates  of  the  strongly  fortified  capital  Babylon  were 
without  further  resistance  thrown  open  to  the  Persians. 

With  the  fall  of  Babylon  the  scepter  of  dominion,  borne  so  long 
by  Semitic  princes,  was  given  into  the  hands  of  the  Aryan  peoples, 
who  were  destined  from  this  time  forward  to  shape  the  main  course 
of  events  and  control  the  affairs  of  civilization.' 

References.  Maspero,  G.,  The  Dawn  of  Civilizatiott,  chaps,  vii-ix ;  The 
Struggle  of  the  iXations,  chaps,  i,  vi ;  The  Passing  of  the  Xations,  chaps,  i-v  ; 
and  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt  and  Assyria,  chaps,  xi-xx.  KiNc,  I..  W.,  Ilistoty  of 
Akkad  and  Surnir  ^x\A  A  I/istoty  of  Babylon.  Rawlinson,  C,  The  five  Great 
Monarchies,  3  vols.  Rogers,  R.  \V.,  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  2  vols. 
II(j.MMEL,  F.,  The  Civilization  of  the  East.  Go(jn.si'EEl),  G.  S., ./  I/istoty  of  the 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  Rahozin,  Z.  A.,  The  Sto/y  of  Assyria.  LavarI), 
A.  II.,  N^inerich  and  its  Remains.  Peters,  J.  P.,  AHppur,  2  vols.  Jastrow,  N., 
The  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  and  The  Civilization  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria.  Savce,  A.  II.,  Social  Life  among  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians. 
K<Jl,i)EWEV,  R.,  The  I'lxcai'ations  at  Babylon.  The  Code  of  Llammttrabi  (in 
either  the  C.  II.  \V.  Johns  or  the  R.  F.  Harper  translation). 

1  For  the  temporary  revival  of  .Semitic  power  throughout  the  Orient  by  the  Arabs, 
see  Chapter  XL. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  HEBREWS 

50.  The  Patriarchal  Age.  The  history  of  the  Hebrews,  as  nar- 
rated in  their  sacred  books,  begins  with  the  departure  of  the 
patriarch  Abraham  out  of  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees."  The  stories  of 
Abraham  and  his  nephew  Lot,  of  Isaac  and  his  sons  Jacob  and 
Esau,  of  the  sojourn  and  the  oppression  of  the  descendants  of 
Jacob  in  Egypt,  of  the  Exodus  under  the  leadership  of  the  great 
lawgiver  Moses,  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan  by  his  successor  Joshua 
— all  these  wonderful  stories  are  told  in  the  old  Hebrew  Scriptures 
with  a  charm  and  simplicity  that  have  made  them  the  familiar 
possession  of  childhood. 

51.  The  Age  of  the  "Judges"  (ending  about  1050 B.C.).  The 
intrusion  into  Canaan  of  the  Israelite  tribes  was  followed  by  a  long 
period  of  petty  wars,  brigandage,  and  anarchy.  During  this  time 
there  arose  a  line  of  national  heroes,  such  as  Gideon,  Jephthah, 
and  Samson,  whose  deeds  of  valor  and  daring,  and  the  timely 
deliverance  they  wrought  for  the  tribes  of  Israel  from  their  foes, 
caused  their  names  to  be  handed  down  with  grateful  remembrance 
to  following. ages.  These  popular  leaders  are  called  "Judges"  by 
the  Bible  writers. 

52.  Founding  of  the  Hebrew  Monarchy  (about  1050  B.C.  )- 
During  the  time  of  the  "Judges"  there  was,  as  the  history  of  the 
period  shows,  no  effective  union  among  the  tribes  of  Israel.  But 
the  common' danger  to  which  they  were  exposed  from  enemies, — 
especially  from  the  warlike  Philistines, — and  the  example  of  the 
nations  about  them,  led  the  people  finally  to  begin  to  think  of  the 
advantages  of  a  more  perfect  union  and  of  a  strong  central  govern- 
ment. The  hitherto  loose  confederation,  accordingly,  was  changed 
into  a  kingdom,  and  Saul  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  was  made  king 
of  the  new  monarchy. 

35 


36  THE  HEBREWS  [§53 

53.  The  Reign  of  David  (about  1025-993  B.C.).  Upon  the 
death  of  Saul,  David,  son  of  Jesse,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  assumed 
the  scepter.  He  built  up  a  real  empire  and  waged  wars  against  the 
troublesome  tribes  of  Moab,  Ammon,  and  Edom. 

David  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  warrior.  His  lament  over  Saul 
and  Jonathan'  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  noblest  specimens  of 
elegiac  poetry  that  has  come  down  from  Hebrew  antiquity.  Such 
was  his  fame  that  the  authorship  of  a  large  number  of  hymns 
written  in  a  later  age  was  ascribed  to  him. 

54.  The  Reign  of  Solomon  (about  993-953  B.C.).  David  was 
followed  by  his  son  Solomon.  The  son  did  not  possess  the  father's 
talent  for  military  affairs,  but  was  a  liberal  patron  of  art,  com- 
merce, and  learning.  He  erected  with  the  utmost  magnificence  of 
adornment  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  planned  by  his  father  David. 
Thenceforth  this  temple  was  the  center  of  the  Hebrew  worship  and 
of  the  national  life.  As  the  reputed  author  of  famous  proverbs, 
Solomon  has  lived  in  tradition  as  the  wisest  king  of  the  East.  He 
maintained  a  court  of  oriental  magnificence.  When  the  queen 
of  Sheba,  made  curious  by  reports  of  his  glor}',  came  from 
South  Arabia  to  visit  him,  she  exclaimed,  "The  half  was  not 
told  me."' 

55.  The  Division  of  the  Kingdom  (about  953  B.C.).  The  reign 
of  Solomon  was  brilliant,  yet  disastrous  in  the  end  to  the  Hebrew 
monarchy.  In  order  to  carry  on  his  vast  undertakings  he  had 
laid  oppressive  taxes  upon  his  people.  When  Rehoboam,  his 
son,  succeeded  to  his  father's  place,  the  people  entreated  him  to 
lighten  the  taxes.  He  refused.  Straightway  all  the  tribes,  save 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  rose  in  revolt,  and  succeeded  in  setting  up 
to  the  north  of  Jerusalem  a  rival  kingdom,  with  Jeroboam  as  its 
first  king.  This  northern  state,  of  which  Samari-a  afterwards 
became  the  capital,  was  known  as  the  Kingdom  of  Israel ;  the 
southern,  of  which  Jerusalem  remained  the  capital,  was  called 
the  Kingdom  of  Judah. 

Thus  was  torn  in  twain  the  empire  of  David  and  Solomon. 
United,  the  tribes  might  have  offered  successful  resistance  to  the 

1  2  .Sam.  i,  17-27. 


§56]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  ISRAEL  37 

encroachments  of  the  powerful  and  ambitious  monarchs   about 
them.    But  now  the  land  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  spoiler. 

56.  The  Kingdom  of  Israel  (953?-722  B.C.).  The  kingdom 
of  the  Ten  Tribes  maintained  its  existence  for  about  two  hundred 
years.  The  little  state  was  at  last  overwhelmed  by  the  Assyrian 
power.  This  happened  722  B.C.,  when  Samaria,  as  already  nar- 
rated, was  captured  by  Sargon  II,  king  of  Nineveh,  and  the  flower 
of  the  people  were  carried  away  into  captivity.  The  gaps  thus 
made  in  the  population  of  Samaria  were  filled  with  other  subjects 
or  captives  of  the  Assyrian  king.  The  descendants  of  these, 
mingled  with  the  Israelites  that  were  still  left  in  the  country, 
formed  the  Samaritans  of  the  time  of  Christ. 

57.  The  Kingdom  of  Judah  (953?-586  B.C.).  This  little  king- 
dom maintained  an  independent  existence  for  over  three  centuries, 
but  upon  the  extension  of  the  power  of  Babylon  to  the  west,  Jeru- 
salem was  forced  to  acknowledge  the  overlordship  of  the  Baby- 
lonian kings.  The  kingdom  at  last  shared  the  fate  of  its  northern 
rival.  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  in  revenge  for  an  upris- 
ing of  the  Jews,  besieged  and  captured  Jerusalem  and  carried  away 
a  large  part  of  the  people  into  captivity  at  Babylon.  This  event 
virtually  ended  the  separate  political  life  of  the  Hebrew  race 
(586  B.C.).  Henceforth  Judea  constituted  simply  a  province  of  the 
empires  which  successively  held  sway  over  the  regions  of  western 
Asia,  with,  however,  just  one  short  period  of  national  life  under 
the  Maccabees,  during  a  part  of  the  two  centuries  immediately 
preceding  the  birth  of  Christ. 

58.  Hebrew  Literature.  The  literature  of  the  Hebrews  is  a 
religious  one ;  for  literature  with  them  was  in  the  main  merely 
a  means  of  inculcating  religious  truth  or  awakening  devotional 
feeling.  This  unique  literature  is  contained  in  sacred  books  known 
as  the  Old  or  Hebrew  Testament.  In  these  ancient  writings  his- 
tories, poems,  prophecies,  and  personal  narratives  blend  in  a 
wonderful  mosaic,  which  pictures  with  vivid  and  grand  effect  the 
migrations,  the  deliverances,  the  calamities,^ — all  the  events  and 
religious  experiences  making  up  the  checkered  life  of  the  people 
of  Israel. 


^8  THE  HEBREWS  L5?  59 

Out  of  the  Old  arose  the  New  Testament,  which  we  should  think 
of  as  a  part  of  Hebrew  literature;  for  although  written  in  the 
Greek  language  and  long  after  the  close  of  the  political  life  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  nevertheless  it  is  essentially  Hebrew  in  thought  and 
doctrine,  and  the  supplement  and  crown  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

Besides  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  called  collectively,  by  way  of  pre- 
eminence, the  Bible  (the  Book),  it  remains  to  mention  especially 
the  Apocrypha,  embracing  a  number  of  books  that  were  composed 
after  the  decline  of  the  prophetic  spirit,  and  which  show  traces  of 
the  influence  of  Persian  and  Greek  thought. 

Neither  must  we  fail  to  mention  the  Talmud,  a  collection  of 
Hebrew  customs  and  traditions,  with  the  comments  thereupon  of 
the  rabbis,  a  work  held  by  most  Jews  next  in  sacredness  to  the 
Holy  Book ;  the  writings  of  Philo,  an  illustrious  Alexandrian 
philosopher  (born  about  25  n.c.) ;  and  the  Antiquities  of  the  Jcivs 
and  the  Jewish  War  by  the  historian  Josephus  (born  a.d.  37). 

59.  Hebrew  Religion  and  Morality.  The  ancient  Hebrews 
made  little  or  no  contribution  to  science.  They  produced  no  new 
order  of  architecture.  In  sculpture  they  did  nothing  ;  their  religion 
forbade  their  making  "graven  images."  Their  mission  was  to 
make  known  the  idea  of  God  as  a  being  holy  and  just  and  com- 
passionate and  loving, —  as  the  Universal  Father  whose  care  is 
over  not  one  people  alone  but  over  all  peoples  and  all  races, — 
and  to  teach  men  that  what  he  recjuires  of  thorn  is  that  they  shall 
do  justice  and  practice  righteousness. 

This  lofty  conception  of  God  was  the  best  element  in  the 
becjuest  which  the  ancient  Hebrews  made  to  the  younger  .Aryan 
world  of  Europe,  and  is  largely  what  entitles  them  to  the  pre- 
eminent place  they  hold  in  the  history  of  humanity. 

References.  Saycf.,  A.  II.,  lun/v  Israel  and  tlu-  SioToundiui^  Nations. 
Kknt,  C.  F.,  a  History  of  the  Hebrew  People,  2  vols.  Rkna.n,  E.,  Histoiy  of  the 
People  of  Israel,  4  vols.  Cornii.i.,  C.  II.,  Histoiy  of  the  People  of  Israel.  Hil,- 
I'RKCUT,  H.  v.,  Recent  Research  in  Pible  lanJs  and  livploratiotis  in  Pible 
Lands  in  the  A'ineteenth  Century  (consult  tables  of  contents).  Montkkiurp:, 
C.  G.,  Lectures  on  the  Origin  and  Gro7vth  of  Relii^ion  as  Illustrated  by  the  Reli- 
gion of  the  .Ancient  //ebrnos.  T?  ALT.,  C.  J.,  Light  from  the  F.ast.  HcnDK.  K.,  Religion 
of  Israel  to  the  I'.xile.    (.'llKVNK,  T.  K.,  Jewish  Religious  Life  after  the  Llxile. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  PH(ENICIANS 


60.  The  Land.  Ancient  Phoenicia  embraced  a  little  strip  of 
broken  seacoast  lying  between  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  the 
ranges  of  Mount  Lebanon.  One  of  the  most  noted  productions 
of  the  country  was  the  fine  fir  timber  cut  from  the  forests  that 
crowned  the  lofty  ranges  of  the  Lebanon  Mountains.  The  "  cedars 
of  Lebanon"  hold  a  prominent  place  both 
in  the  history  and  in  the  poetry  of  the 
East. 

Another  celebrated  product  of  the  coun- 
try was  the  Tyrian  purple,  which  was 
obtained  from  several  varieties  of  the 
Murex,  a  species  of  shellfish  secured  at 
first  along  the  Phoenician  coast,  but  later 
sought  in  distant  waters,  especially  in  the 
Grecian  seas. 

61.  Tyre  and  Sidon.  The  various 
Phoenician  cities  never  coalesced  to  form 

a  true  nation.  They  constituted  merely  a  sort  of  league  or  con- 
federacy, the  petty  states  of  which  generally  acknowledged  the 
leadership  of  Tyre  or  of  Sidon,  the  two  chief  cities.  From  about 
the  eleventh  to  the  fourth  century  B.C.  Tyre  controlled,  almost 
without  dispute  on  the  part  of  Sidon,  the  affairs  of  Phoenicia. 
During  this  time  the  maritime  enterprise  and  energy  of  her 
merchants  spread  throughout  the  INIediterranean  world  the  fame 
of  the  little  island  capital. 

62.  Phoenician  Commerce.  It  was  natural  that  the  people  of 
the  Phoenician  coast  should  have  been  led  to  a  seafaring  life.  The 
lofty  mountains  that  back  the  little  strip  of  shore  seemed  to  shut 
them  out  from  a  career  of  conquest  and  to  prohibit  an  extension 

39 


Fig.  23.  Species  of  the 
]MuKEX.  {Alter Maspero) 

The  moUusks  which  secrete 

the  famous  purple  dye  of  the 

ancient  Tyrians 


40 


THE  PHCENICIANS 


[§63 


of  their  land  domains.  At  the  same  time,  the  Mediterranean  in 
front  invited  them  to  maritime  enterprise,  while  the  forests  of 
Lebanon  in  the  rear  offered  timber  in  abundance  for  their  ships. 

One  of  the  earliest  centers  of  activity  of  the  Phoenician  traders 
was  the  ^^gean  Sea ;  but  towards  the  close  of  the  tenth  or  the 
ninth  centur>'  B.C.  the  jealousy  of  the  Greek  city-states,  now 
growing  into  maritime  power,  closed  the  eastern  Mediterranean 
against  them.  They  then  pushed  out  into  the  western  INIediter- 
ranean.    One  chief  object  of  their  quest  here  was  tin,  which  was 

in  great  demand  on 
account  of  its  use  in 
the  manufacture  of 
bronze.  The  tin  was 
at  first  supplied  by 
the  mines  opened  in 
the  Iberian  (Spanish) 
peninsula.  Later  the 
bold  Phoenician  sailors 
passed  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  braved  the 
dangers  of  the  At- 
lantic, and  brought  back  from  those  stormy  seas  the  product  of 
the  tin-producing  districts^  of  western  Europe. 

63.  Phoenician  Colonies.  Along  the  different  routes  pursued 
by  their  ships,  and  upon  the  coasts  visited  by  them,  the  Phoenicians 
established  naval  stations  and  trading  posts.  Settlements  were 
planted  in  Cyprus,  in  Rhodes,  and  on  other  islands  of  the  .^gean 
Sea,  and  probably  even  in  Greece  itself.  The  shores  of  the  islands 
of  Sfcily  and  Sardinia  were  fringed  with  Phoenician  colonies ;  while 
the  coast  of  North  Africa  was  dotted  with  such  great  cities  as  Utica, 
Hippo,  and  Carthage.  Colonies  were  even  planted  beyond  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  The  Phoenician 
settlement  of  Gades,  upon  the  western  coast  of  Spain,  is  still 
preserved  in  the  modern  Cadiz. 

J  Probably  one  or  all  of  the  following  regions  :  northwest  Spain,  southwest  Britain 
(Cornwall),  and  the  neighboring  .Scilly  Islands  —  possibly  the  ancient  Cassiterides. 


In 


1   .I'-l.Mi  l.\.\     l.iAl.l.l.\  . 

Assyrian  sculpture) 


I'i'.nn  an 


§  64]  ARTS  DISSEMINATED  BY  THE  PHOENICIANS      41 

G4.  Arts  spread  abroad  by  the  Phoenicians;  the  Alphabet. 

Commerce  has  been  called  the  path-breaker  of  civilization.  Cer- 
tainly it  was  such  in  antiquity  when  the  Phoenician  traders  carried 
in  their  ships  to  every  Mediterranean  land  the  wares  of  the  work- 
shops of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  along  with  these  material  products 
carried  also  the  seeds  of  culture  from  the  ancient  lands  of  Egypt 
and  Babylonia.  "Egypt  and  Assyria,"  as  has  been  tersely  said, 
"  were  the  birthplace  of  material  civilization ;  the  Phoenicians 
were  its  missionaries." 

Most  fruitful  of  all  the  arts  which  the  Phoenicians  introduced 
among  the  peoples  with  whom  they  traded  was  the  art  of  alpha- 
betic writing.  As  early  at  least  as  goo  b.  c.  they  were  in  possession 
of  an  alphabet.  Now  wherever  the  Phoenician  traders  went  they 
carried  this  alphabet  as  "^  one  of  their  exports."  It  was  through  them 
that  the  Greeks  received  it ;  the  Greeks  passed  it  on  to  the  Romans, 
and  the  Romans  gave  it  to  the  German  folk.  In  this  way  our 
alphabet  came  to  us  from  the  ancient  East.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  this  gift  of  the  alphabet 
to  the  Aryan-speaking  peoples  of  Europe.  Without  it  their 
civilization  could  never  have  become  so  rich  and  progressive 
as  it  did.^ 

Among  the  other  elements  of  culture  which  the  Phoenicians 
carried  to  the  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean  lands,  the  most  im- 
portant, after  alphabetical  writing,  were  systems  of  weights  and 
measures.  These  are  indispensable  agents  of  civilization,  and  hold 
some  such  relation  to  the  development  of  trade  and  commerce  as 
letters  hold  to  the  development  of  the  intellectual  life. 

References.  R awi.inson,  G.,  Iliston'  of  Phivnicia  and  The  Story  of  rhaiiicia. 
Sayce,  a.  H.,  The  Ancient  Empires  of  the  East,  chaps,  iii,  iv.  The  Bible, 
Ezek.  xxvii  (a  striking  portrayal  by  the  prophet  of  the  commerce,  the  trade 
relations,  and  the  wealth  of  Tyre).  The  Voyage  of  Hanuo  (a  record  of  a 
Phoenician  exploring  expedition  down  the  western  coast  of  Africa).  A  trans- 
lation of  this  celebrated  record  will  be  found  in  Rawlinson's  Histon'  of 
Phaiticia,  pp.  389-392. 

1  All  systems  of  writing  now  in  use,  except  the  Chinese  (sect.  77)  and  those  derived 
from  it,  are  from  the  Phoenician  script. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE 
(558-330  B.C.) 

65.  Kinship  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  It  was  in  remote 
times,  probably  before  1500  b.c,  that  some  Aryan  tribes,  separat- 
ing themselves  from  kindred  clans,  the  ancestors  of  the  Indian 
Aryans,  with  whom  they  had  lived  for  a  time  as  a  single  com- 
munity, sought  new  abodes  on  the  plateau  of  western  Iran.  The 
immigrants  that  settled  in  the  south,  near  the  Persian  Gulf,  be- 
came known  as  Persians ;  while  those  that  took  possession  of  the 
mountain  regions  of  the  northwest  were  called  Medes.  The  names 
of  the  two  peoples  were  always  very  closely  associated,  as  in  the 
Bible  phrase,  "The  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which 
altereth  not." 

66.  Cyrus  the  Great  (558-529  B.C.)  founds  a  Great  World 
Empire.  The  INIedes  were  at  first  the  leading  people.  Their 
leadership,  however,  was  of  short  duration.  A  certain  Cyrus 
overthrew  their  power,  and  assumed  the  headship  of  both  Medes 
and  Persians.  Through  his  energy  and  soldierly  genius  Cyrus 
soon  built  up  an  empire  more  extended  than  any  over  which  the 
scepter  had  yet  been  swayed  by  oriental  monarch,  or  indeed,  so 
far  as  we  know,  by  any  ruler  before  his  time. 

After  the  conquest  of  Media  and  the  acquisition  of  the  prov- 
inces formerly  ruled  by  the  IMedian  princes,  Cyrus  rounded  out 
his  empire  by  the  conquest  of  Lydia  and  Babylonia.  Lydia  was  a 
country  in  the  western  part  of  Asia  Minor.  It  embraced  two  rich 
river  valleys, — the  plains  of  the  Hermus  and  the  Cayster, — which, 
from  the  mountains  inland,  slope  gently  to  the  island-dotted 
JEp,e-dn.  The  coast  region  did  not  at  first  belong  to  Lydia;  it 
was  held  by  the  Greeks,  who  had  fringed  it  with  cities.  The  capital 
of  the  country  was  Sardis. 

42 


§67]  REIGN  OF  DARIUS  I  43 

The  Lydian  throne  was  at  this  time  held  by  Croesus  (560- 
546  B.C.),  the  last  and  most  renowned  of  his  race.  The  tribute 
Croesus  collected  from  the  Greek  cities  which  he  had  subjugated 
and  the  revenue  he  derived  from  his  gold  mines  rendered  him  the 
richest  monarch  of  his  times,  so  that  his  name  has  passed  into  the 
proverb  ''rich  as  Croesus." 

It  was  this  king  who,  alarmed  at  the  growth  of  the  Persian 
power,  threw  down  the  gage  of  battle  to  Cyrus.  Cyrus  defeated 
the  Lydians  in  the  open  field,  and  after  a  short  siege  captured 
Sardis.  Lydia  now  became  a  part  of  the  Persian  Empire.  This 
war  between  Croesus  and  Cyrus  derives  special  importance  from 
the  fact  that  it  brought  the  Persian  Empire  into  contact  with  the 
Greek  cities  of  Asia,  and  thus  led  on  directly  to  a  memorable 
struggle  between  Greece  and  Persia, —  one  of  the  chief  matters  of 
ancient  history,- — the  incidents  of  which  we  shall  narrate  in  a 
later  chapter. 

The  fall  of  Lydia  was  followed  by  that  of  Babylon,  as  has  been 
already  related  as  part  of  the  story  of  the  Chaldean  Empire. 
Cyrus  had  now  rounded  out  his  dominions. 

67.  Reign  of  Darius  I  (521-484  B.C.).  Cyrus  was  followed  by 
his  son  Cambyses,  who  through  conquest  added  Egypt  to  the 
growing  empire.  A  short  troublous  period  followed  the  death  of 
Cambyses  and  then  Darius  I,  the  greatest  of  the  Persian  kings, 
took  the  throne.  The  new  king  built  splendid  structures  at 
Persepolis ;  reformed  the  government,  making  such  wise  and 
lasting  changes  that  he  has  been  called  "  the  second  founder  of  the 
Persian  Empire " ;  established  post  roads ;  and  upon  the  great 
Behistun  Rock,  a  lofty,  smooth-faced  cliff  on  the  western  frontier 
of  Persia,  caused  to  be  inscribed  a  record  of  all  he  had  done. 

And  now  the  Great  King,  lord  of  western  Asia  and  of  Egypt, 
conceived  and  entered  upon  the  execution  of  vast  designs  of  con- 
quest, the  far-reaching  effects  of  which  were  destined  to  live  long 
after  he  had  passed  away.  He  determined  to  extend  the  frontiers 
of  his  empire  into  India  and  Europe  alike. 

At  one  blow  Darius  brought  northwestern  India  under  his  author- 
ity, and  thus  by  a  single  effort  pushed  out  the  eastern  boundary 


44 


THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE 


[§68 


of  his  empire  so  that  it  included  one  of  the  richest  countries 
of  Asia.  Several  campaigns  in  Europe  followed.  These  brought 
Darius  in  direct  contact  with  the  Greeks,  of  whom  we  shall  soon 
hear  much.  How  his  armaments  and  those  of  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor, Xerxes  I,  fared  at  the  hands  of  this  freedom-loving  people, 
who  now  appear  for  the  first  time  as  prominent  actors  in  large 
world  affairs,  will  be  told  when  we  come  to  narrate  the  history  of 


w4 


Fig.  25.    Insurge.nt  CAinivi-.s  i!i«)i'(;iir  hkfork  Dauius 
(From  the  Behistun  Rock) 


the  Greek  city-states.  We  need  now  simply  note  the  result — 
the  wreck  of  the  Persian  plans  of  conquest  and  the  opening  of  the 
great  days  of  Greece. 

68.  End  of  the  Persian  Empire.  The  power  and  supremacy 
of  the  Persian  monarchy  passed  away  with  the  reign  of  Xerxes. 
In  the  year  334  b.c.  Alexander  the  Great,  king  of  Macedonia,  led 
a  small  army  of  Greeks  and  Macedonians  across  the  Hellespont 
intent  upon  the  conquest  of  Asia.  The  story  of  the  establishment 
by  him  of  the  short-lived  Macedonian  monarchy  upon  the  ruins 
of  the  Persian  Empire  properly  belongs  to  Grecian  history,  and 
will  be  related  at  a  later  stage  of  our  narrative. 


h^of" 


'^° 


oiia 


\Coma 


jol 


'^ 


m.r^. 


i,C^>- 


cf 


^^z» 


'^r^^. 


'0,1      4, 


■^^/. 


^'■e.^. 


'SSW 


jto.       o,' "III 


littiiyJo 


\ 


,|-**t 


n,t.(,p,\ 


E    '^. 


o   ,, 


THE   PERSIAN  EMPIl 

lu  its  greatest  extent. 
ABOCT  500  B.C. 

remlnii  EnT]ilie  C__-J 
I  Greek  Colonies  In  Asia  Minor  I 

I  p       fiO    100  200  3()0  ■100  6P0 

I  Scale  of  Miles. 


■baC 


XVi'i 


,NA 


M5A. 


^, 


•'ANi 


^"^-^     AteAcaosi^ 


X 


,ro^ 


^rabtan\ 


SJSA 


H.-Klepert,  Altua  Anti^iias 
W.  Sleglin,  Atlas  Atitiquue 


ne-tC^.  WORKS',    BOFF/LO, 


§69] 


THE  GOVERNMENT 


45 


69.  The  Government.  '  Before  the  reign  of  Darius  I  the  Persian 
Empire  consisted  of  a  great  number  of  subject  states,  which  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  own  kings  and  manage  their  own  affairs, 
merely  paying  tribute  and  homage  and  furnishing  war  contingents 
to  the  Great  King. 

Darius  converted  this  primitive  type  of  government  into  what 
is  known  as  the  satrapal,  a  form  represented  until  recently  by  the 
Turkish  Empire.  The  main  part  of  the  lands  embraced  by  the 
monarchy  was  divided  into  twenty  or  more  provinces,  over  each 
of  which  was  placed 
a  governor,  called  a 
satrap,  appointed  by 
the  king.  These  offi- 
cials held  their  posi- 
tion at  the  pleasure 
of  the  sovereign. 
Each  province  con- 
tributed to  the  in- 
come of  the  king  a 
stated  revenue. 

There  were  pro- 
visions in  the  system 
by  which  the  king 
might  be  apprised  of 

the  disloyalty  of  his  satraps.  Thus  the  whole  dominion  was  firmly 
cemented  together,  and  the  facility  with  which  almost-sovereign 
states — which  was  the  real  character  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
empire  under  the  old  system — could  plan  and  execute  revolt,  was 
removed. 

70.  Religion  and  Morality;  Zoroastrianism.  The  literature 
of  the  ancient  Persians  was  mostly  religious.  Their  sacred  book  is 
called  the  Zend-Avesta.  The  religious  system  of  the  Persians,  as 
taught  in  the  Zend-Avesta,  is  known  as  Zoroastrianism,  from 
Zoroaster,  its  supposed  founder.  This  great  reformer  and  teacher 
is  now  generally  believed  to  have  lived  and  taught  about  looo  b.c, 
though  some  scholars  place  him  several  centuries  later. 


Fig.  26.    Ancient  Persian  Fire-Altars 
(From  Perrot,  History  of  Persian  Art) 


46  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE  [§  70 

Zoroastrianism  was  a  system  of  belief  known  as  dualism. 
There  was  a  good  spirit,  Ahura  Mazda,  whose  truest  symbol  or 
manifestation  was  lire.  Upon  high  mountain  tops  the  eternal 
flame  on  fire-altars  was  kept  burning  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. Because  of  their  veneration  for  fire  the  ancient  Persians  are 
often  called  fire-worshipers. 

Opposed  to  the  good  spirit  Ahura,  or  Ormazd,  was  an  evil  spirit 
Ahriman,  who  was  constantly  striving  to  destroy  the  good  creations 
of  Ahura  by  creating  all  evil  things— drought,  pestilence,  baneful 
animals,  weeds  and  thorns  in  the  world  without,  and  evil  in  the 
heart  of  man  within.  From  all  eternity  these  two  powers  had 
been  contending  for  the  mastery ;  in  the  present  neither  had  the 
decided  advantage,  but  in  the  near  future  Ahura,  it  was  believed, 
would  triumph  over  Ahriman,  and  evil  be  forever  destroyed. 

The  duty  of  man  was  to  aid  Ahura  by  working  with  him  against 
the  evil-loving  Ahriman.  He  must  labor  to  eradicate  every  evil 
and  vice  from  his  own  heart,  to  reclaim  the  earth  from  barren- 
ness, and  to  kill  all  noxious  animals — snakes,  lizards  and  such 
like  creeping  things — which  Ahriman  had  created.  Above  all, 
man  must  be  truthful,  because  Ahura,  on  whose  side  he  battles,  is 
the  god  of  sincerity  and  truth.  To  lie  was  to  be  a  follower  of 
Ahriman,  the  god  of  deceit  and  lies.  "The  most  disgraceful  thing 
in  the  world,"  affirms  Herodotus  in  his  account  of  the  Persians, 
"they  think,  is  to  tell  a  lie."  In  his  report  of  the  Persian  system 
of  education  he  says  :  "The  boys  are  taught  to  ride,  to  draw  the 
bow,  and  to  speak  the  truth."  I  was  not  wicked,  nor  a  liar,  is  the 
substance  and  purport  of  many  a  record  of  the  ancient  kings. 
The  Persian  rulers,  shaming  in  this  all  other  nations  ancient  and 
modern,  kept  sacredly  their  pledged  word  ;  only  once  were  they 
ever  even  charged  with  having  broken  a  treaty  with  a  foreign  power. 

References.  Mastero.  G.,  T/if  Ptis.w'/rj^  o/  t//r  /:'/»/>/ ns,  chap.  vi.  Rawi.in- 
.soN.  G..  F/W  Great  Monarchies,  vo\.  iii.  pp.  84-539.  Sayce,  A.  H.,  The  Ancient 
Empires  of  the  luist,  chaps,  iv,  v.  Jackso.n,  A.  V.  W.,  Zoroaster,  the  Prophet  of 
Ancient  Iran.  IIai.I,,  II.  R.  II.,  Ancient  History  of  the  Near  East,  chap,  xii, 
pp.  551-579.  Benjamin,  S.  G.  \Y.,  Persia,  chaps,  vii-xi.  See  Herodotus,  V, 
52-54,  for  the  Royal  Road  from  Susa  to  Sardis,  and  Harper.  R.  F.,  Assyrian 
and  Hahylonian  Literatnre,  pp.  174-1S7,  for  the  Hehistun  Inscrrption  of  Darius. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  EAST  ASIAN  PEOPLES 

71.  The  East  Asian  Circle  of  Culture.  While  in  Egypt  and 
western  Asia  there  were  slowly  developing  the  Egyptian,  the 
Babylonian-Assyrian,  the  Syrian,  and  the  Persian  cultures  of  which 
we  have  given  some  account  in  the  preceding  chapters,  there  were 
developing  at  the  other  end  of  Asia,  in  India  and  China,  civili- 
zations which  throughout  this  early  period  were  in  the  main  un- 
influenced by  the  cultures  of  the  West.  Before  following  further 
the  development  of  civilization  in  the  Western  lands,  we  must 
cast  a  glance  upon  these  civilizations  of  the  Far  East.^ 

I.  INDIA 

72.  The  Aryan  Invasion.  At  the  time  of  the  great  Indo- 
European  dispersion  some  Aryan  bands,  journeying  from  the 
northwest,  settled  first  the  plains  of  the  Indus  and  then  occupied 
the  valley  of  the  Ganges.  They  reached  the  banks  of  the  latter 
river  as  early  probably  as  1500  B.C.  These  fair-skinned  invaders 
found  the  land  occupied  by  a  dark-skinned,  non-Aryan  race,  whom 
they  either  subjugated  and  reduced  to  serfdom,  or  drove  out  of 
the  great  river  valleys  into  the  mountains  and  the  half-desert 
plains  of  the  peninsula.- 

73.  The  Development  of  the  System  of  Castes.  The  conflict 
and  mingling  of  races  in  northern  India  caused  the  population 
to  become  divided  into  four  social  grades  or  hereditary  classes, 

1  Besides  the  Hindus  and  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese  are  a  third  important  people 
belonging  to  the  East  Asian  sphere  of  culture,  but  as  they  did  not  emerge  from  the 
obscurity  of  prehistoric  times  until  about  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  of  our  era, 
when  writing  was  introduced  into  Japan  from  the  continent,  their  true  historj'  falls  out- 
side the  period  covered  by  the  present  chapter. 

'-  The  unsubdued  tribes  of  southern  India,  known  as  Dravidians,  retained  their  native 
speech.    Over  54,000,000  of  the  present  population  of  India  are  non-Aryan  in  language. 

47 


48  THE  EAST  ASIAN  PEOPLES  [§  74 

based  on  color.  These  were  (i)  the  nobles  or  warriors;  (2)  the 
Brahmans  or  priests;'  (3)  the  peasants  and  traders;  and  (4)  the 
Sudras.  The  last  were  of  non- Aryan  descent.  Below  these  several 
grades  were  the  Pariahs  or  outcasts,  the  lowest  and  most  despised 
of  the  native  races.  -The  marked  characteristics  of  this  graded 
society  were  that  intermarriage  between  the  classes  was  forbidden, 
and  that  the  members  of  different  classes  must  not  eat  together 
nor  come  into  personal  contact. 

The  development  of  this  system,  which  is  known  as  the  system 
of  castes,  is  one  of  the  most  important  facts  in  the  history  of  India. 
The  system,  however,  has  undergone  great  modification  in  the 
lapse  of  ages,  and  is  now  less  rigid  than  in  earlier  times.  At  the 
present  day  it  rests  largely  on  an  industrial  basis,  the  members  of 
every  trade  and  occupation  forming  a  distinct  caste.  The  number 
of  castes  is  now  about  two  thousand. 

74.  The  Vedas ;  the  Religion.  The  most  important  of  the 
sacred  books  of  the  Hindus  are  called  the  Vedas.  They  are  written 
in  the  Sanscrit  language,  which  is  the  oldest  form  of  Aryan  speech 
preserved  to  us. 

The  early  religion  of  the  Indian  Aryans  was  a  worship  of  the 
powers  of  nature.  As  time  passed,  this  nature  worship  developed 
into  a  form  of  religion  known  as  Brahmanism.  It  is  so  named 
from  Brahma,  which  is  the  Hindu  name  for  the  Supreme  Being. 
Below  Brahma  there  are  many  gods. 

A  chief  doctrine  of  Brahmanism  is  that  of  rebirth.  According 
to  this  teaching  the  good  man  is  at  death  reborn  into  some  higher 
caste  or  better  state,  while  the  evil  man  is  reborn  into  a  lower 
caste,  or  perhaps  his  soul  enters  some  unclean  animal,  or  is  im- 
prisoned in  a  shrub  or  tree.  This  doctrine  of  rebirth  is  known 
as  the  transmigration  of  souls. 

75.  Buddhism-  In  the  fifth  century  before  our  era  a  great 
teacher  and  reformer  named  Gautama  (about  557-477  B.C.),  but 
better  known  as  Buddha,  that  is,  "the  Enlightened,"  arose  in 
India.  He  was  born  a  prince,  but  legend  represents  him  as  being 
so  touched  by  the  universal  misery  of  mankind  that  he  voluntarily 

1  At  a  later  period  the  Brahmans  arrogated  to  themselves  the  highest  rank. 


§  76]  BUDDHISM  49 

abandoned  the  luxury  of  his  home  and  spent  his  life  in  seeking 
out  and  making  known  to  men  a  new  and  better  way  of  salvation. 
His  creed  was  very  simple.  What  he  taught  the  people  was  that 
they  should  seek  salvation  not  through  self-torture  and  the  observ- 
ance of  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  but  through  honesty  and 
purity  of  heart,  through  charity  and  tenderness  and  compassion 
toward  all  creatures  that  have  life. 

Buddhism  gradually  gained  ascendancy  over  Brahmanism ;  but 
after  some  centuries  the  Brahmans  regained  their  power,  and  by 
the  eighth  century  after  Christ  the  faith  of  Buddha  had  died  out 
or  had  been  crowded  out  of  almost  every  part  of  India. 

But  Buddhism,  like  Christianity,  has  a  profound  missionary 
spirit,  and  during  the  very  period  when  India  was  being  lost  the 
missionaries  of  the  reformed  creed  were  spreading  the  teachings 
of  their  master  among  the  peoples  of  all  the  countries  of  eastern 
Asia,  so  that  today  Buddhism  is  the  religion  of  almost  one  third 
of  the  human  race.  Buddha  has  probably  nearly  as  many  followers 
as  both  Christ  and  Mohammed  together. 

II.  CHINA 

76.  General  Remarks.  China  was  the  cradle  of  a  very  old 
civilization,  older  perhaps  than  that  of  any  other  lands  save  Egypt 
and  Babylonia ;  yet  China  has  not  until  recently  exercised  any  di- 
rect influence  upon  the  general  current  of  history.  All  through  the 
later  ancient  and  mediaeval  times  the  country  lay,  vague  and  mys- 
terious, in  the  haze  of  the  world's  horizon.  During  the  IVIiddle 
Ages  the  land  was  known  to  Europe  under  the  name  of  Cathay. 

The  government  of  ancient  China  was  a  parental  monarchy. 
The  emperor  was  the  father  of  his  people.  But  though  an  absolute 
prince,  he  dared  not  rule  tyrannically  ;  he  must  rule  justly  and 
in  accordance  with  the  ancient  customs. 

77.  Chinese  Writing.  The  art  of  writing  was  known  among 
the  Chinese  as  early  as  2000  B.C.  The  system  employed  is  cu- 
riously cumbrous.  In  the  absence  of  an  alphabet  each  word  of  the 
language  is  represented  upon  the  written  page  by  means  of  a 


50  THE  EAST  ASIAN  PEOPLES  [§  78 

symbol,  or  combination  of  symbols ;  this,  of  course,  requires  that 
there  be  as  many  symbols  or  characters  as  there  are  words  in  the 
language.  The  number  sanctioned  by  good  use  is  about  twenty- 
five  thousand ;  but  counting  obsolete  signs,  the  number  amounts 
to  over  fifty  thousand.  A  knowledge  of  five  or  six  thousand 
characters,  however,  enables  one  to  read  and  write  without  diffi- 
culty. The  nature  of  the  signs  shows  conclusively  that  the  Chinese 
system  of  writing,  like  that  of  all  others  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted, was  at  first  pure  picture  writing.  Time  and  use  have 
worn  the  pictorial  symbols  to  their  present  form. 

Printing  from  blocks  was  practiced  in  China  as  early  as  the 
sixth  century  of  our  era,  and  printing  from  movable  types  as  early 
as  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century, —  that  is  to  say,  about  four 
hundred  years  before  the  same  art  was  invented  in  Europe. 

78.  The  Teacher  Confucius.  The  great  teacher  of  the  Chinese 
was  Confucius  (551-478  B.C.).  He  was  not  a  prophet  or  revealer  ; 
he  laid  no  claims  to  a  supernatural  knowledge  of  God  or  of  the 
hereafter ;  he  said  nothing  of  an  Infinite  Spirit,  and  but  little  of 
a  future  life.  His  cardinal  precepts  were  obedience  to  parents  and 
superiors  and  reverence  for  the  ancients  and  imitation  of  their 
virtues.  He  gave  the  Chinese  the  Golden  Rule,  stated  negatively  : 
"What  you  do  not  want  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others." 
The  influence  of  Confucius  has  been  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
teacher  excepting  Christ  and  perhaps  Buddha. 

79.  Chinese  Literature.  The  most  highly  prized  portion  of 
Chinese  literature  is  embraced  in  what  is  known  as  the  Five 
Classics  and  the  Four  Books,  called  collectively  the  Nine  Classics. 
A  considerable  part  of  the  material  of  the  Five  Classics  was  col- 
lected and  edited  by  Confucius.  The  Four  Books,  though  not  writ- 
ten by  Confucius,  yet  bear  the  impress  of  his  mind  and  thought, 
just  as  the  Gospels  teach  the  mind  of  Christ,  The  cardinal  virtue 
inculcated  by  all  the  sacred  writings  is  filial  piety.  The  second 
great  moral  requirement  is  conformity  to  ancient  custom. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  influence  which  the  Nine 
Classics  have  had  upon  the  Chinese  nation.  For  more  than  two 
thousand  years  these  writings  have  been  the  Chinese  Bible.    But 


§80]  CHINESE  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  51 

their  influence  has  not  been  wholly  good.  The  Chinese  in  strictly 
obeying  the  injunction  to  walk  in  the  old  ways,  to  conform  to  the 
customs  of  the  ancients,  have  failed  to  mark  out  new  footpaths 
for  themselves ;  hence,  probably,  one  cause  of  the  unprogressive 
character  of  Chinese  civilization. 

80.  Education  and  Civil-Service  Competitive  Examinations. 
China  has  a  very  ancient  educational  system.  The  land  was  filled 
with  schools,  academies,  and  colleges  more  than  a  thousand  years 
before  our  era.  Until  recently  a  knowledge  of  the  sacred  books 
was  the  sole  passport  to  civil  office  and  public  employment.  All 
candidates  for  places  in  the  government  had  to  pass  a  series  of 
competitive  examinations  in  the  Nine  Classics.  At  the  opening 
of  the  present  century  there  were  between  two  and  three  million 
persons  studying  for  these  literary  tests.^ 

81.  The  Chinese  outside  the  Western  Circle  of  Ancient 
Culture.  Though  constituting  so  important  a  factor  in  the  East 
Asian  circle  of  culture,  the  Chinese  during  ancient  times,  as  we 
have  already  intimated,  did  not  contribute  any  historically  im- 
portant elements  to  the  civilization  of  the  West  Asian  and  Mediter- 
ranean lands.  What  contributions  this  great  people  will  make  to 
the  general  civilization  of  the  future,  the  future  alone  will  disclose. 

References.  For  India  :  Ragozin,  Z.  A.,  The  Story  of  Vedic  India.  Hunter, 
W.  W.,  A  Brief  Histojy  of  the  Indian  Peoples,  chaps,  i-vi.  DuTT,  R.  C,  The 
Civilizatioft  of  India,  chaps,  i-v.  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhist  India  and  Btiddhisjn, 
its  History  and  literature.    Hopkins,  E.  \V.,  The  Religions  of  India. 

For  China :  Williams,  S.  \V.,  A  Histoiy  of  China,  chap,  i  (this  work  com- 
prises the  historical  chapters  of  the  author's  The  Middle  Kingdom).  Gowen. 
H.  H.,  An  Outline  History  of  China,  pt.  i,  earher  chapters.  Legge,  J.,  The 
Religions  of  China.  Giles,  H.  A.,  The  Civilisation  of  China,  chaps,  i-iii.  De 
Groot,  J.  J.  M.,  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese  and  Religion  in  China.  Martin, 
W.  A.  P.,  The  Lore  of  Cathay.  Geil,  W.  E.,  The  Great  Wall  of  China  2  (valuable 
for  its  illustrations ;  the  literary  qualities  of  the  book  cannot  be  commended). 

1  In  the  year  1905  the  Dowager  Empress  by  edict  ordered  that  in  future  examina- 
tions the  sciences  of  the  West  should  be  substituted  for- the  ancient  classics. 

2  The  Great  Wall  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  works  of  man.  This  immense  ram- 
part, which  was  built  as  a  barrier  against  the  incursions  of  nomads,  extends  for  about 
1500  miles  along  the  northern  frontier  of  the  countrj'.  Its  construction  was  begun  in  the 
third  century  b.c. 


DIVISION  II.   GREECE 
CHAPTER  IX 

THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

82.  Hellas.  The  ancient  people  whom  we  call  Greeks  called 
themselves  Hellenes  and  their  land  Hellas.  But  this  term  Hellas 
as  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks  embraced  much  more  than  modern 
Greece.  "Wherever  were  Hellenes  there  was  Hellas."  Thus 
the  name  included  not  only  Greece  proper  and  the  islands  of 
the  adjoining  seas  but  also  the  Hellenic  cities  in  Asia  Minor, 
in  southern  Italy,  and  in  Sicily,  besides  many  other  Greek  settle- 
ments scattered  up  and  down  the  IMediterranean  and  along  the 
shores  of  the  Hellespont  and  the  Euxine.  Yet  Greece  proper  was 
the  real  homeland  of  the  Hellenes  and  the  actual  center  of  Greek 
life  and  culture. 

83.  Divisions  of  Greece.  Long  arms  of  the  sea  divide  the 
Greek  peninsula  into  three  parts,  called  Northern,  Central,  and 
Southern  Greece.  The  southern  portion,  joined  to  the  mainland 
by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  was  called  by  the  ancients  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, that  is,  the  Island  of  Pelops,  from  the  fabled  founder  there 
of  a  mythic  line  of  kings. 

Northern  Greece  included  the  ancient  districts  of  Thessaly  and 
Epirus.  Thessaly  consists  mainly  of  a  large  and  beautiful  valley, 
walled  in  on  all  sides  by  rugged  mountains.  The  district  of  Epirus 
stretched  along  the  Ionian  Sea  on  the  west.  In  the  deep  recesses 
of  its  forests  of  oak  was  situated  a  renowned  oracle  of  Zeus. 

Central  Greece  was  divided  into  eleven  districts,  among  which 
were  Phocis,  Bceotia,  and  Attica.  In  Phocis  was  the  city  of  Delphi, 
famous  for  its  oracle  arid  temple ;  in  Bceotia  the  city  of  Thebes ; 
and  in  Attica  was  the  brilliant  Athens.  The  Attic  land,  as  we 
shall  learn,  was  the  central  point  of  Greek  history. 

52 


§83] 


DIVISIONS  OF  GREECE 


53 


The  chief  districts  of  Southern  Greece  were  Corinthia,  Arcadia, 
Argolis,  Laconia,  and  Elis. 

The  main  part  of  Corinthia  formed  the  isthmus  uniting  the 
Peloponnesus  to  Central  Greece.  Its  chief  city  was  Corinth,  the 
gateway  of  the  peninsula. 

Arcadia,  sometimes  called  "the  Switzerland  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesus," formed  the  heart  of  the  peninsula.    This  region  consists 


Fk;.  27.    The  Plain  of  Olvmpia.    (From  Boettichcr,  Olyinpia) 
The  valley  of  the  Alpheus  in  Elis,  where  were  held  the  celebrated  Olympic  games 

of  broken  uplands  shut  in  by  irregular  mountain  walls.  The  in- 
habitants of  this  district,  because  thus  isolated,  were,  in  the 
general  intellectual  movement  of  the  Greek  race,  left  far  behind 
the  dwellers  in  the  more  open  and  favored  portions  of  Greece. 
It  is  the  rustic,  simple  life  of  the  Arcadians  that  has  given  the 
term  Arcadian  its  meaning  of  pastoral  simplicity. 

Argolis  formed  a  tongue  of  land  jutting  out  into  the  .^gean. 
This  region  is  noted  as  the  home  of  an  early  prehistoric  culture, 
and  holds  today  the  remains  of  cities  —  Mycenae  and  Tiryns  — 
the  kings  of  which  built  great  palaces,  possessed  vast  treasures  in 
gold  and  silver,  and  held  wide  sway  centuries  before  Athens  had 
made  for  herself  a  name  and  place  in  history. 


54  THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE  [§  84 

Laconia,  or  Laceda?mon,  embraced  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
Peloponnesus.  This  district  was  ruled  by  the  city  of  Sparta,  the 
great  rival  of  Athens. 

Elis,  a  district  on  the  western  side  of  the  Peloponnesus,  is 
chiefly  noted  as  the  consecrated  land  which  held  Olympia,  the 
great  assembling  place  of  the  Greeks  for  the  celebration  of  the 
most  famous  of  their  festivals, —  the  so-called  Olympian  games. 

84.  Mountains.  The  Cambunian  Mountains  form  a  lofty  wall 
along  a  considerable  reach  of  the  northern  frontier  of  Greece. 
Branching  off  at  right  angles  to  these  mountains  is  the  Pindus 
range,  which  runs  south  into  Central  Greece, 

On  the  northern  border  of  Thessaly  is  Mount  Olympus,  the 
most  celebrated  mountain  of  the  peninsula.  The  Greeks  thought 
it  the  highest  mountain  in  the  world  (its  height  is  about  9700 
feet),  and  believed  that  its  cloudy  summit  was  the  abode  of 
the  gods. 

South  of  Olympus,  close  by  the  sea,  are  Ossa  and  Pelion,  cele- 
brated in  fable  as  the  mountains  which  the  giants,  in  their  war 
against  the  gods,  piled  one  upon  another  in  order  to  scale 
the  heavens. 

Parnassus  and  Helicon,  in  Central  Greece, —  beautiful  moun- 
tains clad  with  trees  and  vines  and  filled  with  fountains, — were 
believed  to  be  haunts  of  the  Muses.  Near  Athens  are  Hymettus, 
praised  for  its  honey,  and  Pentelicus,  renowned  for  its  marbles. 

The  Peloponnesus  is  rugged  with  mountains  that  radiate  in  all 
directions  from  the  central  country  of  Arcadia. 

85.  The  Rivers  and  Lakes  of  the  Land.  Greece  has  no  rivers 
large  enough  to  be  of  service  to  commerce.  Most  of  the  streams 
are  scarcely  more  than  winter  torrents.  Among  the  most  impor- 
tant streams  are  the  Alpheus  in  Elis,  on  the  banks  of  which  the 
Olympian  games  were  celebrated,  and  the  Eurotas,  which  threads 
the  central  valley  of  Laconia.  The  lakes  of  Greece  are  in  the 
main  scarcely  more  than  stagnant  pools,  the  backwater  of  spring 
freshets. 

86.  Islands  about  Greece.  Very  much  of  the  history  of  Greece 
is  intertwined  with  the  islands  that  lie  about  the  mainland.    On 


§  87]  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  LAND  55 

the  east,  in  the  ^gean  Sea,  are  the  Cyclades,  so  called  because 
they  form  an  irregular  circle  round  the  sacred  island  of  Delos, 
where  was  a  very  celebrated  shrine  of  Apollo.  Between  the 
Cyclades  and  Asia  Minor  lie  the  Sporades,  which  islands,  as  the 
name  implies,  are  sown  irregularly  over  that  part  of  the  ^gean. 

Just  off  the  coast  of  Attica  is  a  large  island  called  by  the 
ancients  Eubcea.  Close  to  the  Asian  shores  are  the  large  islands 
of  Lemnos,  Lesbos,  Chios,  Samos,  and  Rhodes.  In  the  Mediter- 
ranean, midway  between  Greece  and  Egypt,  is  the  large  island  of 
Crete,  noted  in  legend  for  its  Labyrinth  and  its  legislator  Minos. 
To  the  west  of  Greece  lie  the  Ionian  Islands,  the  largest  of  which 
was  called  Corey ra,  now  Corfu. 

87.  Influence  of  the  Land  upon  the  People.  The  physical 
geography  of  a  country  has  much  to  do  with  molding  the  char- 
acter and  shaping  the  histoiy  of  its  people.  Mountains,  isolating 
neighboring  communities,  foster  the  spirit  of  local  patriotism ; 
the  sea,  inviting  abroad  and  rendering  intercourse  with  distant 
countries  easy,  awakens  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  develops 
commercial  enterprise. 

Now  Greece  is  at  once  a  mountainous  and  a  maritime  country. 
Mountain  walls  fence  it  off  into  a  great  number  of  isolated  dis- 
tricts, and  this  is  probably  one  reason  why  the  Greeks  formed  so 
many  small  independent  states,  and  never  could  be  brought  to 
feel  or  to  act  as  a  single  nation.^ 

The  Greek  peninsula  is,  moreover,  by  deep  arms  and  bays  of 
the  sea,  converted  into  what  is  in  effect  an  archipelago.  Hence 
its  people  were  early  tempted  to  a  seafaring  life, —  tempted  to 
follow  what  Homer  calls  the  "wet  paths"  of  Ocean,  to  see  whither 
they  might  lead.  Intercourse  with  the  old  civilizations  of  the 
Orient,  which  Greece  faces,  stirred  the  naturally  quick  and  ver- 
satile Greek  intellect  to  early  and  vigorous  thought.  The  islands 
strewn  with  seeming  carelessness  through  the  ^Egean  Sea  were 
"stepping-stones,"  which  invited  intercourse  between  the  settlers 

1  But  we  must  be  careful  not  to  exaggerate  the  influence  of  geography  upon  Greek 
history.  For  the  root  of  feelings  and  sentiments  which  were  far  more  potent  than  geo- 
graphical conditions  in  keeping  the  Greek  cities  apart,  see  sect.  98. 


56  ■     THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE  [§  88 

of  Greece  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  delightful  coast  countries  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  thus  blended  the  life  and  history  of  the  opposite 
shores. 

How  much  the  sea  did  in  developing  enterprise  and  intelligence 
in  the  cities  of  the  maritime  districts  of  Greece  is  shown  by  the 
contrast  which  the  advancing  culture  of  these  regions  presented 
to  the  lagging  civilization  of  the  peoples  of  the  interior  districts ; 
as,  for  instance,  those  of  Arcadia. 

88.  The  Hellenes.  The  historic  inhabitants  of  the  land  we 
have  described  were  called  by  the  Romans  Greeks ;  but,  as  we 
have  already  learned,  they  called  themselves  Hellenes,  from  their 
fabled  ancestor  Hellen.  They  were  divided  into  four  tribes, — 
the  Achseans,  the  lonians,  the  Dorians,  and  the  ^^iolians.  These 
several  tribes,  united  by  bonds  of  language  and  religion,  always 
regarded  themselves  as  members  of  a  single  family.  All  non- 
Hellenic  peoples  they  called  Barbarians}  When  the  mists  of 
prehistoric  times  first  rise  from  Greece,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  century  b.c,  we  discover  the  several  Hellenic  families 
in  possession  of  Greece  proper,  of  the  islands  of  the  .^gean,  and 
of  the  western  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Respecting  their  prehistoric 
migrations  and  settlements  we  have  little  or  no  certain  knowledge. 
In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  see  how  they  pictured  to  themselves 
the  past  of  the  i^Lgean  lands. 

References.  Curtius,  E.,  vol.  i,  pp.  9-46.2  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.), 
vol.  ii,  pp.  141-163.  Abbott,  E.,  vol.  i,  chap.  i.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chap.  ii. 
Bury,  J.  B.,  History  of  Greece,  pp.  1-5.  Tozer,  IT.  P.,  Classical  Geoip-aphv 
(Primer).  Rich.\rdson,  R.  B.,  Vacation  Days  in  Greece  (Dr.  Richardson  was 
for  many  years  Director  of  the  American  School  of  Archaeology  at  Athens; 
his  delightful  sketches  of  excursions  to  interesting  historical  sites  will  give  a 
much  better  idea  of  the  physical  features  of  (Ireece  than  all  the  formal  descrip- 
tions of  the  geographers).  Man.att,  J.  I.,  ^■E,!:;ean  Days  (has  pictures  of  the 
life  and  scenes  of  the  isles  of  the  /Kgean  by  one  "  smitten  with  the  love 
of  Greece  "). 

'  At  first  this  term  meant  scarcely  more  th.in  "unintelligible  folk";  but  later  it  came 
to  express  aversion  and  contempt. 

2  We  cite  the  standard  extended  histories  of  (Jreece  and  of  Komc  by  giving  merely 
the  author's  name  with  volume  and  chapter  or  page. 


CHAPTER  X 
GREEK  LEGENDS ;  THE  AEGEAN  CIVILIZATION  ^ 

89.  Character  and  Value  of  the  Legends.  The  Greeks  of 
historic  times  possessed  a  great  store  of  wonderful  legends  and 
tales  of  the  foretime  in  Greece.  Though  many  of  these  stories 
were  doubtless  in  large  part  a  pure  creation  of  the  Greek  imagi- 
nation, still  for  two  reasons  the  historical  student  must  make  him- 
self familiar  with  them.  First,  because  the  historic  Greeks  believed 
them  to  be  true,  and  hence  were  greatly  influenced  by  them.  What 
has  been  said  of  the  war  against  Troy,  namely,  "If  not  itself  a 
fact,  the  Trojan  War  became  the  cause  of  innumerable  facts," 
is  true  of  the  whole  body  of  Greek  legends.  These  tales  were 
recited  by  the  historian,  dramatized  by  the  tragic  poet,  cut  in 
marble  by  the  sculptor,  and  depicted  by  the  painter  on  the  walls 
of  portico  and  temple.  They  thus  constituted  a  very  vital  part 
of  the  education  of  every  Greek. 

Second,  a  knowledge  of  these  legends  is  of  value  to  the  student 
of  Greek  history  because  recent  discoveries  in  the  .^gean  lands 
prove  that  at  least  some  of  them  contain  elements  of  truth,  that 
they  are  memories,  though  confused  memories,  of  actual  events. 

Therefore,  as  a  prelude  to  the  story  we  have  to  tell  we  shall 
in  the  present  chapter  repeat  some  of  these  tales,  selecting  chiefly 
those  that  contain  references  to  a  wonderful  civilization  which  is 
represented  as  having  existed  in  the  i^gean  lands  in  prehistoric 
times,  but  which  long  before  authentic  Greek  history  opens  had 
vanished,  leaving  behind  barely  more  than  a  dim  memory. 

1  The  prehistoric  period  in  (ireecc  was  formerly  called  the  A/viournii  .-Igt',  for  the  rea- 
son that  Mycena;,in  Argolis,  was  believed  to  have  been  the  center  of  the  brilliant  Bronze 
Age  culture  which  characterized  the  second  millennium  h.  r.  in  the  /'Egean  lands.  Discov- 
eries in  Crete,  however,  show  that  island  to  have  been  the  radiating  point  of  this  civili- 
zation, and  the  /'Egean  islands  and  coast  lands  its  chief  arena,  hence  the  name  .-Ej^can 
Chiitzaiion  by  which  it  is  now  generally  designated.'  The  creators  and  bearers  of  this 
civiHzation  were  a  non-Greek  race. 

57 


58         GREEK  LEGENDS;  ^GEAN  CIVILIZATION     [§90 

90.  Oriental  Immigrants.  The  legends  of  the  Greeks  represent 
the  early  growth  of  civilization  among  them  as  having  been  pro- 
moted by  the  settlement  in  Greece  of  oriental  immigrants,  who 
brought  with  them  the  arts  and  culture  of  the  East.  Thus  from 
Egypt,  legend  affirms,  came  Cecrops,  bringing  with  him  the  arts, 
learning,  and  priestly  wisdom  of  the  Nile  valley.  He  is  represented 
as  the  builder  of  Cecropia,  which  became  afterwards  the  citadel 
of  the  illustrious  city  of  Athens.  From  Phoenicia  Cadmus  brought 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  founded  the  city  of  Thebes. 

The  nucleus  of  fact  in  these  legends  is  probably  this, —  that  the 
European  Greeks  received  certain  of  the  elements  of  their  culture 
from  the  East.  Without  doubt  the}-  got  from  thence  letters,  a 
gift  of  incomparable  value,  and  hints  in  art,  besides  suggestions 
and  facts  in  philosophy  and  science. 

91.  The  Heroes ;  Heracles.  The  Greeks  believed  that  their 
ancestors  were  a  race  of  heroes  of  divine  or  semi-divine  lineage. 
Every  tribe,  district,  city,  and  village  even,  preserved  traditions 
of  its  heroes,  whose  wonderful  exploits  were  commemorated  in 
song  and  story. 

Heracles  was  the  greatest  of  the  national  heroes  of  the  Greeks. 
He  is  represented  as  performing  twelve  superhuman  labors,  and 
as  being  at  last  translated  from  a  blazing  pyre  to  a  place  among 
the  immortal  gods.  Heracles  was  originally  a  sun-god.  Trans- 
ferred from  the  heavens  to  the  earth  he  became  the  personification 
or  embodiment  of  the  moral  qualities  of  heroism,  endurance,  and 
self-sacrifice  in  the  service  of  others. 

92.  Minos  the  Lawgiver  and  Sea-King  of  Crete.  ]Many  of 
the  Greek  legends  cluster  about  the  island  of  Cr'ete.  These  have 
much  to  do  with  a  great  ruler  named  Minos,  who  is  represented 
as  a  lawgiver  of  divine  wisdom,  the  founder  of  the  first  great 
maritime  state  in  the  .^gean,  and  the  suppressor  of  piracy  in 
those  waters. 

This  legend  preserves  the  memory  of  a  Cretan  kingdom  which 
was  great  and  powerful  in  the  early  part  of  the  second  millennium 
B.C.  The  center  of  this' early  Mgean  culture,  which  in  some 
respects  was   not   inferior  to   the   contemporary   civilizations  of 


Fig.  28.   Thk  Vaphio  Cups  and  their  Scrolls 

These  famous  cups,  masterpieces  of  the  art  of  the  prehistoric  Algean  civilization,  were 

found  in  a  tomb  at  Vaphio,  in  Laconia,  in  1S89.     They  were  doubtless  of  Cretan  origin 

and  represent  a  brilliant  culture  that  centuries  before  the  opening  of  classical  Greek 

history  had  vanished,  leaving  behind  only  a  vague  memory  in  tradition 


§93] 


THE  ARGONAUTIC  EXPEDITION 


59 


Egypt  and  Babylonia,  was  Cnossus.  Here  have  been  unearthed  the 
remains  of  a  great,  many-chambered  palace  and  other  memorials 
of  a  wonderful  civilization  which  was  in  its  bloom  a  thousand 
years  and  more  before  the  beginnings  of  recorded  Greek  history. 

93.  The  Argonautic  Expedition.  Besides  the  labors  and  ex- 
ploits of  single  heroes,  Greek  legends  tell  of  various  memorable 
and  arduous  enter- 
prises which  were 
conducted  by  bands 
of  heroes.  Among 
these  undertakings 
were  the  Argonautic 
Expedition  and  the 
Siege  of  Troy. 

The  tale  of  the 
Argonauts  is  told 
with  many  a  varia- 
tion in  the  legends  of 
the  Greeks.  Jason,  a 
prince  of  Thessaly, 
with  fifty  companion 
heroes,  among  whom 
were  Heracles,  The- 
seus, and  Orpheus, — 
the  last   a   musician 

of  superhuman  skill,  the  music  of  whose  lyre  moved  trees  and 
stones, — set  sail  in  "a  fifty-oared  galley'"  called  the  Argo  (hence 
the  name  Argonauts,  given  to  the  heroes),  in  search  of  a  "golden 
fleece"  which  was  fabled  to  be  nailed  to  a  tree  and  watched  by  a 
dragon  in  a  grove  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Euxine — an  inhospi- 
table region  of  unknown  terrors.  The  expedition  was  successful, 
and  after  many  wonderful  adventures  the  heroes  returned  in 
triumph  with  the  sacred  relic. 

In  its  primitive  form  this  tale  was  doubtless  an  oriental  nature 
myth ;  but  in  the  shape  given  it  by  the  Greek  story-tellers  it 
may,  divested  of  its  many  poetical  embdlishments,  be  taken  as 


Fig.  29.  Theater  and  "  Dancing-Place  "'  (?) 
Excavated  at  Cnossus  by  Dr.  Evans 

Also  did  the  glorious  lame  god  devise  a  dancing-place 

like    unto  that  which  once   in  wide   Knosos   Daidalos 

wrought    for    Ariadne    of    the    lovely    tresses.  —  Iliad 

(tr.  Lang  and  others),  x\'iii,  590-592 


6o         GREEK  LEGENDS;  .TIGEAN  CIVILIZATION      [§94 

symbolizing  the  explorations  and  adventures  of  the  prehistoric 
Greeks  or  their  predecessors  in  the  North  ^gean  and  the  Euxine. 

94.  The  Trojan  War  (legendary  date,  1194-1184  B.C.).  The 
Trojan  War  was  an  event  about  which  gathered  a  great  circle  of 
tales  and  poems,  all  full  of  an  undying  interest  and  fascination. 

Ilios,  or  Troy,  was  a  strong-walled  city  which  had  grown  up  in 
Asia  Minor  just  south  of  the  Hellespont.  The  traditions  tell  how 
Paris,  son  of  Priam,  king  of  Troy,  visited  the  Spartan  king 
Menelaus,  and  ungenerously  requited  his  hospitality  by  secretly 
bearing  away  to  Troy  his  wife  Helen,  famous  for  her  rare  beauty. 

All  the  heroes  of  Greece  flew  to  arms  to  avenge  the  wrong. 
A  host  of  a  hundred  thousand  warriors  was  speedily  gathered. 
Agamemnon,  brother  of  IMenelaus  and  king  of  Mycenae,  "wide- 
wayed  and  rich  in  gold,"  was  chosen  leader  of  the  expedition. 
Under  him  were  the  "lion-hearted  Achilles"  of  Thessaly,  the 
"crafty  Odysseus,"  king  of  Ithaca,  the  aged  Nestor,  and  many 
more — the  most  valiant  heroes  of  all  Hellas.  Twelve  hundred 
galleys  bore  the  gathered  clans  across  the  .^^gean,  from  Aulis  to 
the  Trojan  shores.  For  ten  years  the  Greeks  and  their  allies 
held  in  close  siege  the  city  of  Priam.  The  place  was  at  last 
taken  through  a  device  of  the  artful  Odysseus,  and  was  sacked 
and  burned  to  the  ground. 

There  is  probably  a  nucleus  of  fact  in  this,  the  most  elaborate 
and  interesting  of  the  Grecian  legends.  We  may  believe  it  to  be 
the  dim  recollection  of  a  prehistoric  conflict  between  the  Greeks 
and  the  natives  of  Asia  Minor,  arising  from  the  attempt  of  the 
former  to  secure  a  foothold  upon  the  coast.  That  there  really 
was  in  prehistoric  times  in  the  Troad  a  city  which  was  the  strong- 
hold of  a  rich  and  powerful  royal  race  has  been  placed  beyond 
doubt  by  the  excavations  and  discoveries  of  Dr.  Schliemann 
and  others.^ 

1  We  may  reasonably  believe  that  the  basis  of  the  power  and  riches  of  these  rulers 
was  the  control  which  their  strategic  position  at  the  entrance  of  the  water  passage  to  the 
Propontis  and  the  Euxine  gave  them  over  the  trade  of  those  regions.  Troy  in  prehistoric 
times  seems  to  have  held  the  same  relation  to  this  northern  trade  that  Byzantium, 
located  at  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Bosphorus,  held  throughout  the  classical  Greek 
period,  and  which  Constantinople  hplcls  tQday. 


§95] 


REFERENCES 


6i 


95.  The  Home-coming  of  the  Greek  Chieftains.  After  the 
fall  of  Troy  the  Greek  chieftains  and  princes  returned  home.  The 
legends  represent  the  gods  as  withdrawing  their  protection  from 
the  hitherto  favored  heroes,  because  they  had  not  spared  the  altars 
of  the  Trojans.  Consequently  many  of  them  were  driven  in  end- 
less wanderings  over  sea  and  land.  Homer's  Odyssey  portrays 
the  sufferings  of  the  "much-enduring  Odysseus,"  impelled  by 
divine  wrath  to  long  journeyings  through  strange  seas. 

In  some  cases,  according  to  the  tradition,  advantage  had  been 
taken  of  the  absence  of  the  princes,  and  their  thrones  had  been 
usurped.  Thus  in  Argolis,  ^gisthus  had  won  the  unholy  love  of 
Clytemnestra,  wife  and  queen  of  Agamemnon,  who  on  his  return 
was  murdered  by  the  guilty  couple.  A  tradition  current  among 
the  Greeks  of  later  times  pointed  out  Mycense  as  the  place  where 
the  unfortunate  king  and  those  slain  with  him  were  buried.^ 

References.  Gayley,  C.  M.,  T/ie  Classical  Myths  in  the  English  Litet-atiire 
and  in  Art  (rev.  ed.,  191 1),  chaps,  xiv-xxiv  (gives  the  tales  of  the  older  and 
the  younger  Greek  heroes,  including  the  legends  of  the  Argonauts  (pp.  229- 
233),  the  Seven  against  Thebes  (pp.  265-268),  and  the  Trojan  War  (pp.  277- 
306)).  For  an  admirable  summary  of  the  works  of  Dr.  H.  Schliemann  {^Troy 
and  its  Remains,  1875,  ^hcena,  1878,  etc.)  see  ScHUCHHARDT,  C.,  Schliemann^s 
Excavations.  Gardner,  P.,  N'eiv  Chapters  in  Greek  History,  chaps,  i-v.  The 
following  works  summarize  and  interpret  the  new  discoveries  in  Crete  :  H.\LL, 
H.  R.  n.,  Aigean  Archceology ;  Mosso,  A.,  The  Palaces  of  Crete ;  Baikie,  J.,  The 
Sea-kings  of  Crete  ;  and  Fowler,  H.  N.  and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek  Archieology, 
chap.  i. 


1  Tn  1876  Dr.  Schliemann  began  excavations  at  Mycenae.  The  most  interesting  of  his 
discoveries  here  were  several  tombs  holding  the  remains  of  nineteen  bodies,  which  were 
surrounded  by  an  im- 
mense number  of  arti- 
cles of  gold,  silver,  and 
bronze, — golden  masks 
and  breastplates, drink- 
ing cups  of  solid  gold, 
bronze  swords  inlaid 
with  goldand  silver, and 
personal  ornaments  of 
every  kind.  There  were 

one  hundred  pounds  in  weight  of  gold  articles  alone.  This  discovery  assures  us  that  the 
ancient  legends,  in  so  far  as  they  represent  Mycenae  as  having  been  in  early  pre-Dorian 
times  the  seat  of  an  influential  and  wealthy  royal  race,  rest  on  a  basis  of  actual  fact. 


Fi(..  30.   Inlaid  Swokd  Bladk  koind  .\t  Mvcen/E 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  HISTORIC  GREEKS 

96.  A  Rich  and  Mixed  Heritage.  The  Greeks  when  they 
appeared  in  history,  in  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  were  the  bearers 
of  an  already  advanced  culture.  They  possessed  well-developed 
political  and  religious  institutions,  a  wonderfully  copious  language, 
a  rich  and  varied  mythology,  an  unrivaled  epic  literature,  and  an 
art  which,  though  immature,  was  yet  full  of  promise. 

This  was  indeed  a  rich  heritage.  It  was  in  part  a  bequest  from 
their  own  foretime,  and  in  part  a  legacy  from  that  earlier  y^gean 
civilization  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  There  were 
mingled  in  it  also  elements  derived  directly  from  oriental  cultures. 
But  all  these  non-Greek  racial  and  cultural  contributions  had 
before  historic  times  received  the  deep  impress  of  the  Hellenic 
spirit.  This  will  become  evident  as  we  now  proceed  to  examine 
somewhat  in  detail  this  heritage  of  the  historic  Hellenes,  and 
note  how  different  a  product  it  is  from  anything  we  have  found 
before. 

97.  The  City-State.  The  light  that  falls  upon  Greece  in  the 
eighth  and  seventh  centuries  B.C.  shows  most  of  Greece  proper, 
the  shore-lands  of  Asia  Minor,  and  many  of  the  .^gean  islands 
filled  with  cities.  Respecting  the  nature  of  these  cities  we  must 
say  a  word,  for  it  is  with  them  —  with  cities — that  Greek  history 
has  to  do. 

In  the  first  place,  each  of  these  cities  was  an  independent  com- 
munity, like  a  modern  nation.  It  was  a  city-state.  It  made  war 
and  peace  and  held  diplomatic  relations  with  its  neighbors.  Its 
citizens  were  aliens  in  every  other  city. 

In  the  second  place,  these  city-states  were,  as  we  think  of  inde- 
pendent states,  very  small.  So  far  as  we  know,  no  city  in  Greece 
proper,  save  Athens,  ever  had  over  twenty  thousand  arm-bearing 

62 


§98]      FEELING  OF  THE  GREEK  FOR  HIS  CITY  63 

citizens.  In  most  cases  each  consisted  of  nothing  more  than  a 
single  walled  town  with  a  little  encircling  zone  of  farming  and 
pasture  land.  Sometimes,  however,  the  city-state  embraced,  be- 
sides the  central  town,  a  large  number  of  smaller  places.  Thus 
the  city-state  of  Athens,  in  historic  times,  included  all  Attica 
with  its  hundred  or  more  villages  and  settlements.  In  most  other 
cases,  however,  the  outlying  villages,  if  any,  were  so  close  to  the 
walled  town  that  all  their  inhabitants,  in  the  event  of  a  sudden 
raid  by  enemies,  could  get  to  the  city  gates  in  one  or  two 
hours  at  most. 

In  the  third  place,  each  of  these  early  cities  was  made  up  of 
groups — clans,  phratries  or  brotherhoods  (groups  of  closely  united 
families),  and  tribes  —  which  were  a  survival  from  the  tribal 
age  of  the  Greeks,  the  age  before  they  began  to  live  in  cities.  It 
was  at  first  only  members  of  these  groups  who  enjoyed  the  rights 
of  citizenship. 

98.  Feeling  of  the  Greek  for  his  City.  We  cannot  understand 
Greek  history  unless  we  get  at  the  outset  a  clear  idea  of  the  feel- 
ings of  a  Greek  toward  the  city  of  which  he  was  a  member.  It 
was  his  country,  the  fatherland  for  which  he  lived  and  for  which 
he  died.  Exile  from  his  native  city  was  to  him  a  fate  scarcely  less 
dreaded  than  death.  This  devotion  of  the  Greek  to  his  city  was 
the  sentiment  which  corresponds  to  patriotism  amongst  us,  only, 
being  a  narrower  as  well  as  a  religious  feeling,  it  was  much  more 
intense. 

It  was  mainly  this  strong  city  feeling  among  the  Greeks  which 
prevented  them  from  ever  uniting  to  form  a  single  nation.  The 
history  of  Greece  is  the  history  of  modern  Europe  in  miniature. 
It  is,  in  general,  the  history  of  a  great  number  of  independent 
cities  wearing  one  another  out  with  their  never-ending  disputes 
and  wars  arising  from  a  thousand  and  one  petty  causes  of  rivalry 
and  hatred.  But  it  was  this  very  thing  that  made  life  in  the  Greek 
cities  so  stimulating  and  strenuous,  and  that  developed  so  wonder- 
fully the  faculties  of  the  Greek  citizen.  In  a  word,  the  wonderful 
thing  which  we  call  Greek  civilization  was  the  flower  and  fruitage 
of  the  city-state. 


64      THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  HISTORIC  GREEKS  [§  9<i 


99.  Ideas  of  the  Greeks  respecting  the  System  of  the  Universe. 
Forming  another  important  element  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
historic  Greeks  were  their  religious  ideas  and  institutions.  In 
speaking  of  these  we  shall  begin  with  a  word  respecting  their 
ideas  in  regard  to  the  system  of  the  universe. 

The  Greeks  supposed  the  earth  to  be,  as  it  appears,  a  plane, 
circular  in  form  like  a  shield.    Around  it  ebbed  and  flowed  the 

"mighty  strength 
of  the  ocean 
river,"  a  stream 
broad  and  deep, 
beyond  which  on 
all  sides  lay  realms 
of  darkness  and 
terror.  The  heav- 
ens were  a  solid 
vault  or  dome, 
whose  edge  shut 
down  close  upon 
the  earth.  Be- 
neath the  earth, 
reached  by  sub- 
terranean pas- 
sages, was  Hades, 
a  vast  region, 
the  realm  of  de- 
parted souls.  Still  beneath  this  was  the  prison  Tartarus,  a  pit 
deep  and  dark,  made  fast  by  strong  gates  of  brass  and  iron. 

The  sun  was  an  archer  god,  borne  in  a  fiery  chariot  up  and 
down  the  steep  pathway  of  the  skies.  In  the  western  region  were 
the  Elysian  Fields,  the  abodes  of  the  shades  of  heroes  and  poets. 
100.  The  Olympian  Council.  At  the  head  of  the  Greek  deities 
there  was  a  council  of  twelve  members,  comprising  six  gods  and 
six  goddesses.  Chief  among  these  male  deities  were  Zeus,  the 
father  of  gods  and  men ;  Poseidon,  ruler  of  the  sea ;  and  Apollo, 
or  Phoebus,  the  god  of  light,  of  music,  and  of  prophecy. 


TlIK    WiiKl.l)    ACCORIMNC;    TO    Ild.MKR 


§  101]  THE  DELPHIAN  ORACLE  65 

Among  the  female  divinities  were  Hera,  the  proud  and  jealous 
queen  of  Zeus;  Athena,  or  Pallas, —  who  sprang  full-grown  from 
the  forehead  of  Zeus, —  the  goddess  of  wisdom  and  the  patroness  of 
the  domestic  arts  ;  and  Aphrodite,  the  goddess  of  love  and  beauty.^ 

These  great  deities  were  simply  magnified  human  beings.  They 
surpassed  mortals  rather  in  power  than  in  size  of  body.  Their 
abode  was  Mount  Olympus  and  the  airy  regions  above  the  earth. 

101.  The  Delphian  Oracle.  The  most  precious  part  perhaps 
of  the  religious  heritage  of  the  historic  Greeks  from  the  misty 
Hellenic  foretime  was  the  oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphi.  The  Greeks 
believed  that  in  the  early  ages  the  gods  were  wont  to  visit  the 
earth  and  mingle  with  men.  But  even  in  Homer's  time  this  famil- 
iar intercourse  was  a  thing  of  the  past, —  a  tradition  of  a  golden 
age  that  had  passed  away.  In  historic  times,  though  the  gods 
often  revealed  their  will  and  intentions  through  signs  and  portents, 
still  they  granted  a  more  special  communication  of  counsel  through 
what  were  known  as  oracles.  The  favored  spots  where  these  com- 
munications were  made  were  called  oracles,  as  were  also  the 
responses  there  received. 

The  most  renowned  of  the  Greek  oracles  was  that  at  Delphi,  in 
Phocis.  Here,  from  a  deep  fissure  in  the  rocks,  arose  vapors, 
which  were  thought  to  be  the  inspiring  breath  of  Apollo.  Over 
this  spot  was  erected  a  temple  in  honor  of  the  Revealer.  The  com- 
munication was  generally  received  by  the  Pythia,  or  priestess, 
seated  upon  a  tripod  placed  above  the  orifice.  As  she  became  over- 
powered by  the  vapors,  she  uttered  the  message  of  the  god.  These 
mutterings  of  the  Pythia  were  taken  down  by  attendant  priests, 
interpreted,  and  written  in  verse.  Some  of  the  responses  of  the 
oracle  contained  plain  and  wholesome  advice ;  but  very  many  of 

1  Besides  the  great  gods  and  goddesses  that  constituted  the  Olympian  Council, 
there  was  an  almost  infinite  number  of  other  deities,  celestial  personages,  and  mon- 
sters neither  human  nor  divine.  Hades  ruled  over  the  lower  realms:  Dionysus  was  the 
god  of  wine ;  the  goddess  Nemesis  was  the  punishcr  of  crime,  and  particularly  the 
queller  of  the  proud  and  arrogant ;  ."Kolus  was  the  ruler  of  the  winds,  which  he  confined 
in  a  cave  secured  by  mighty  gates.  There  were  nine  Muses,  inspirers  of  art  and  song. 
Three  Fates  allotted  life  and  death,  and  three  Furies  (Eumenides,  or  Erinyes) 
avenged  crime,  especially  murder  and  sacrilegious  crimes.  Besides  these  there  were  the 
Centaurs,  the  Cyclopes,  the  Harpies,  the  Gorgons,  and  a  thousand  others. 


66     THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  HISTORIC  GREEKS  [§  102 

them,  particularly  those  that  implied  a  knowledge  of  the  future, 
were  made  obscure  and  ingeniously  ambiguous,  so  that  they  might 
correspond  with  the  event  however  affairs  should  turn.  Thus 
Croesus  at  the  time  he  made  war  on  Cyrus  (sect.  66)  was  told  in 
response  to  his  inquiry  that  if  he  undertook  the  war  he  would  de- 
stroy a  great  empire.  He  did,  indeed, — but  the  empire  was  his  own. 

The  oracle  of  Delphi  gained  a  celebrity  wide  as  the  world.  It 
was  often  consulted  by  the  monarchs  of  Asia  and  the  people  of 
Rome  in  times  of  extreme  danger  and  perplexity.  Among  the 
Greeks  scarcely  any  undertaking  was  entered  upon  without  the 
will  and  sanction  of  the  oracle  being  first  sought. 

102.  The  Olympian  Games.  Another  of  the  most  character- 
istic of  the  religious  institutions  of  the  Greeks  which  they  inherited 


Fig.  31.   Raci\(;  with  Fouk-Hokse  Chariots.    (From  a  vase  painting 
of  the  fifth  century  n.c.) 

from  prehistoric  times  was  the  sacred  games  celebrated  at  Olympia 
in  Elis,  in  honor  of  the  Olympian  Zeus.  The  origin  of  this  festival 
is  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  tradition ;  but  by  the  opening  of  the 
eighth  century  B.C.  it  had  assumed  national  importance.  The 
games  were  held  every  fourth  year,  and  the  interval  between  two 
successive  festivals  was  known  as  an  Olympiad. 

The  contests  consisted  of  foot  races,  boxing,  wrestling,  and 
other  athletic  games.  Later,  chariot  racing  was  introduced,  and 
became  the  most  popular  of  all  the  contests.  The  competitors 
must  be  of  Hellenic  race ;  must  have  undergone  special  training 
in  the  gymnasium ;  and  must,  moreover,  be  unblemished  by  any 
crime  against  the  state  or  sin  against  the  gods.  Spectators  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  crowded  to  the  festival. 

The  victor  was  crowned  with  a  garland  of  sacred  olive ;  heralds 
proclaimed  his  name  abroad  ;  his  native  city  received  him  as  a 
conqueror,  sometimes  through  a  breach  made  in  the  city  walls ; 


§  103]      INFLUENCE  OF  THE  GRECIAN  GAMES 


67 


his  statues,  executed  by  eminent  artists,  were  erected  at  Olympia 
and  in  his  own  city ;  and  poets  and  orators  vied  with  the 
artist  in  perpetuating  his  name  and  triumphs  as  the  name  and 
triumphs  of  one  who  had  reilected  immortal  honor  upon  his 
native  state. 

Besides  the  Olympian  games  there  were  transmitted  from  pre- 
historic times  the  germs  at  least  of  three  other  national  festivals. 
These  were  the  Pythian,  held  in  honor  of  Apollo,  near  his 
shrine  and  oracle  at  Delphi ;  the  Nemean,  celebrated  in  honor 
of  Zeus,  at  Nemea,  in  Argolis ;  and  the  Isthmian,  observed  in 
honor  of  Poseidon, 
on  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth. 

103.  Influence  of 
the  Grecian  Games. 
For  more  than  a 
thousand  years  all 
these  national  fes- 
tivals^ particularly 
those  celebrated  at 
Olympia,  exerted  an 

immense  influence  upon  the  social,  religious,  and  literary  life  of 
Hellas.  They  enkindled  among  the  widely  scattered  Hellenic 
states  and  colonies  a  common  literary  taste  and  enthusiasm  ;  for 
into  all  the  four  great  festivals,  save  the  Olympian,  were  intro- 
duced, sooner  or  later,  contests  in  poetry,  oratory,  and  history. 
During  the  festivals  poets  and  historians  read  their  choicest  pro- 
ductions, and  artists  exhibited  their  masterpieces.  The  extraor- 
dinary honors  accorded  to  the  victors  stimulated  the  contestants 
to  the  utmost,  and  strung  to  the  highest  tension  every  power 
of  body  and  mind. 

Particularly  were  the  games  promotive  of  sculpture,  since  they 
afforded  the  sculptor  living  models  for  his  art.  "Without  the 
Olympic  games,"  says  Holm,  "we  should  never  have  had  Greek 
sculpture."  Moreover,  they  promoted  intercourse  and  trade ;  for 
the  festivals  naturally  became  great  centers  of  traffic  and  exchange 


Fig.  32.    Greek  Ruxxers 


68     THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  HISTORIC  GREEKS  [§  104 

during  the  progress  of  the  games.  They  softened,  too,  the  manners 
of  the  people,  turning  their  thoughts  from  martial  exploits  and 
giving  the  states  respite  from  war ;  for  during  the  season  in  which 
the  religious  games  were  held  it  was  sacrilegious  to  engage  in 
military  expeditions.  They  tended  also  to  keep  alive  common 
Hellenic  feelings  and  sentiments.  In  all  these  ways,  though  they 
never  drew  the  states  into  a  common  political  union,  they  im- 
pressed a  common  character  upon  their  social,  intellectual,  and 
religious   life.^ 

104.  The  Greek  Language.  One  of  the  most  wonderful  things 
which  the  Greeks  brought  out  of  their  dim  foretime  was  their 
language.  At  the  beginning  of  the  historic  period  it  was  already 
one  of  the  richest  and  most  refined  languages  ever  spoken  by 
human  lips.  Through  what  number  of  centuries  it  was  taking 
form  upon  the  lips  of  the  forefathers  of  the  historic  Greeks,  we 
can  only  vaguely  imagine.  It  bears  testimony  to  a  long  period 
of  true  Hellenic  life  lying  behind  the  historic  age  in  Hellas. 

105.  The  Homeric  Poems.  The  rich  and  flexible  language  of 
the  Greeks  had  already  in  prehistoric  times  been  wrought  into 
epic  poems  of  incomparable  beauty  and  perfection.  These  epics, 
transmitted  from  the  (ireek  foretime  and  known  as  the  "Homeric 
poems,"  consist  of  the  lUdd  and  the  Odyssey.  Neither  their  exact 
date  nor  their  authorship  is  known  (sect.  198).  That  they  were 
the  prized  possession  of  the  Greeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  his- 
toric period  is  all  that  it  is  important  for  us  to  note  here.  They 
were  a  sort  of  Bible  to  the  Greeks,  and  exercised  an  incalculable 
influence  not  only  upon  the  religious  but  also  upon  the  literary 
life  of  the  entire  Hellenic  world. 

References.  Curtius,  E.,  vol.  ii,  p.  i-iii.  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.), 
vol.  ii,  pp.  164-194;  vol.  iii,  pp.  276-297.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chaps,  i,  xi,  xix. 
Bury,  J.  H.,  History  of  Greece,  pp.  65-73.  FuWLER,  W.  W.,  The  City-State  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  chaps,  i-iii.  Dikhi,,  C,  Kvcursions  in  Greece,  chap,  vii 
(on  the  Grecian  games).  Seymour,  T.  1).,  Life  in  the  Homeric  Ai^e.  Gardiner, 
Y..  N.,  Greek  Athletic  Spoiis  and  Festivals,  chap,  ix  (on  the  Olympic  games). 

1  The  Olympian  f;ames,  after  having  been  suspended  since  the  fourth  century  of  our 
era,  were  revived,  with  an  international  character,  in  iS(/>,  at  Athens. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GROWTH  OF  SPARTA 

106.  Situation  of  Sparta.  Probable  tradition  tells  of  a  pre- 
historic invasion  of  the  Peloponnesus  by  Dorian  tribes  and  the 
subjugation  by  them  of  the  earlier  population^  of  the  peninsula. 
Sparta  was  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Peloponnesus  which  owed  their 


FUi.  33.     SrAKTA,   WITH    nil,   i\A.\(,h.s   ui-    Ulh    iAU^hlL'S 

origin  or  importance  to  this  conquest.  It  was  situated  in  the  deep 
valley  of  the  Eurotas,  in  Laconia,  and  took  its  name  Sparta  ("sown 
land")  from  the  circumstance  that  it  was  built  upon  tillable 
ground,  whereas  the  heart  and  center  of  most  Greek  cities  con- 
sisted of  a  lofty  rock  (the  citadel  or  acropolis).  But  Sparta  needed 
no  citadel.  Her  situation,  surrounded  as  she  was  by  almost  im- 
passable mountain  barriers,  and  far  removed  from  the  sea,  was 
her  sufficient  defense.  Indeed,  the  Spartans  seem  to  have  thought 
it  unnecessary  even  to  erect  a  wall  round  their  city,  which  stood 
open  on  every  side  until  late  and  degenerate  times. 

1  Probably  already  Ilellenized. 
69' 


70  THE  GROWTH  OF  SPARTA  [§  107 

107.  Classes  in  the  Spartan  State.  The  population  of  Laconia 
was  divided  into  three  classes, —  Spartans,  Perioeci,  and  Helots. 
The  Spartans  proper  were  the  descendants  of  the  conquerors  of 
the  country,  and  were  of  course  Dorian  in  race  and  language. 
They  composed  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  entire  population. 

The  Perioeci  ("dwellers  around")  were  the  subjugated  natives. 
They  are  said  to  have  outnumbered  the  Spartans  three  to  one. 
They  were  allowed  to  retain  possession  of  their  lands,  but  were 
forced  to  pay  tribute-rent,  and  in  times  of  war  to  follow  the  lead 
of  their  Spartan  masters. 

The  third  and  lowest  class  was  composed  of  serfs,  called  Helots. 
They  were  the  property  of  the  state,  and  not  of  the  individual 
Spartan  lords,  among  whom  they  were  distributed  by  lot.  It  is 
affirmed  that  when  they  grew  too  numerous  for  the  safety  of  the 
state,  their  numbers  were  thinned  by  a  deliberate  massacre  of  the 
surplus  population. 

108.  The  Spartan  Constitution.  Of  the  history  of  Sparta 
before  the  eighth  century  B.C.  we  have  no  certain  knowledge. 
According  to  tradition,  peace,  prosperity,  and  rapid  growth  were 
secured  through  the  adoption  of  a  most  remarkable  political  con- 
stitution framed  by  a  great  lawgiver  named  Lycurgus.  This 
constitution  provided  for  two  joint  kings,  a  Senate,  a  General 
Assembly,  and  a  sort  of  executive  board  composed  of  five  persons 
called  Ephors.  The  double  sovereignty  worked  admirably,  one 
king  being  a  check  upon  the  other ;  for  five  centuries  there  was 
no  successful  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  Spartan  king  to  subvert 
the  constitution. 

The  Senate  consisted  of  twenty-eight  elders  and  the  two  kings. 
Xo  one  could  become  a  senator  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
sixty.  The  General  Assembly  was  composed  of  all  the  citizens  of 
Sparta  over  thirty  years  of  age.  By  this  body  laws  were  made  and 
questions  of  peace  and  war  decided.  In  striking  contrast  to  the 
custom  at  .\thens,  all  matters  were  decided  without  general  debate, 
only  the  magistrates  and  persons  specially  invited  being  allowed 
to  address  the  assemblage.  The  Spartans  were  fighters,  not 
talkers ;   they  hated  windy  discussion. 


§  109]  THE  PUBLIC  TABLES  71 

109.  The  Public  Tables.  In  order  to  correct  the  extravagance 
with  which  the  tables  of  the  rich  were  often  spread,  Lycurgus  is 
said  to  have  ordered  that  all  the  citizens  should  eat  at  public  and 
common  tables.  This  was  their  custom,  but  Lycurgus  could  have 
had  nothing  to  do  with  instituting  it.  It  was  part  of  their 
military  life. 

A  luxury-loving  Athenian  once  visited  Sparta,  and,  seeing  the 
coarse  fare  of  the  citizens,  is  reported  to  have  declared  that 
now  he  understood  the  Spartan  disregard  of  life  in  battle.  "Any 
one,"  said  he,  "must  naturally  prefer  death  to  life  on  such 
fare  as  this." 

110.  Education  of  the  Youth.  Children  at  Sparta  were  re- 
garded as  belonging  to  the  state.  Every  male  infant  was  brought 
before  a  Council  of  Elders,  and  if  it  did  not  seem  likely  to  become 
a  robust  and  useful  citizen,  was  exposed  in  a  mountain  glen.  At 
seven  the  education  and  training  of  the  youth  were  committed  to 
the  charge  of  public  officers,  called  boy  trainers.  The  aim  of 
the  entire  course  was  to  make  a  nation  of  soldiers  who  should 
contemn  toil  and  danger  and  prefer  death  to  military  dishonor. 

The  mind  was  cultivated  only  as  far  as  might  contribute  to  the 
main  object  of  the  system.  Reading  and  writing  were  not  taught, 
and  the  art  of  rhetoric  was  despised.  Only  martial  poems  were 
recited.  The  Spartans  had  a  profound  contempt  for  the  subtleties 
and  literary  acquirements  of  the  Athenians.  Spartan  brevity  was 
a  proverb,  whence  our  word  laconic  (from  Laconia),  meaning  a 
concise  and  pithy  mode  of  expression. 

But  while  the  mind  was  neglected,  the  body  was  carefully 
trained.  In  running,  leaping,  wrestling,  and  hurling  the  spear  the 
Spartans  acquired  the  most  surprising  nimbleness  and  dexterity. 
At  the  Olympian  games  Spartan  contestants  more  frequently  than 
any  others  bore  off  the  prizes  of  victory. 

But  before  all  things  else  was  the  Spartan  youth  taught  to  bear 
pain  unflinchingly.  At  times  he  was  scourged  just  for  the  pur- 
pose of  accustoming  his  body  to  pain.  Frequently,  it  is  said, 
boys  died  under  the  lash  without  revealing  their  suffering  by 
look  or  moan. 


72  THE  GROWTH  OF  SPARTA  [§  111 

That  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Spartan  constitution  were 
admirably  adapted  to  the  end  in  view, —  the  rearing  of  a  nation  of 
agile  and  sturdy  warriors, —  the  long  military  supremacy  of  Sparta 
among  the  states  of  Greece  abundantly  attests. 

111.  The  Spartan  Conquest  of  Messenia.  The  most  impor- 
tant event  in  Spartan  history  between  the  age  of  Lycurgus  and 
the  commencement  of  the  Persian  Wars  was  the  long  contest  with 
Messenia,  known  as  the  First  and  Second  Messenian  Wars  (about 
743-723  and  645-631  B.C.).  The  outcome  of  the  protracted 
struggle  was  the  defeat  of  the  Messenians  and  their  reduction  to 
the  hard  and  bitter  condition  of  the  Helots  of  Laconia.  Many 
of  the  nobles  fled  the  country  and  found  hospitality  as  exiles  in 
other  lands.  Some  of  the  fugitives  conquered  for  themselves  a 
place  in  Sicily  and  gave  name  and  importance  to  the  still  existing 
city  of  Messana  (Messina),  on  the  Sicilian  straits. 

Thus  Sparta  secured  possession  of  Messenia.  From  the  end  of 
the  Second  Messenian  War  on  to  the  decline  of  the  Spartan  power 
in  the  fourth  century  r.c,  the  Messenians  were  the  serfs  of  the 
Spartans.  All  the  southern  part  of  the  Peloponnesus  was  now 
Spartan    territory. 

112.  Sparta  becomes  Supreme  in  the  Peloponnesus.  After 
Sparta  had  secured  possession  of  Messenia,  her  influence  and  power 
advanced  steadily  until  her  leadership  was  acknowledged  by  most  of 
the  states  of  the  Peloponnesus.  She  now,  as  head  of  a  Peloponne- 
sian  league,  began  to  be  looked  to  even  by  the  Greek  cities  beyond 
the  peninsula  as  the  natural  leader  and  champion  of  the  Greeks. 

Having  now  traced  in  brief  outline  the  rise  of  Sparta  to  su- 
premacy in  the  Peloponnesus,  we  must  turn  aside  to  take  a  wider 
look  over  Hellas,  in  order  to  note  an  expansion  movement  of  the 
Hellenic  race  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Hellenes  upon 
almost  every  shore  of  the  then  known  world. 

References.  Plutarch,  Z)r«;;4^/.(.  Curtiu.s,  li.,  vol.  i,  pp.  175-275.  Grote, 
G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  ii,  pp.  259-376.  Abbott,  E.,  vol.  i,  chaps,  vi-viii. 
Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chap.s.  xv-xvii.  Allcrokt  and  Masom.  Early  Grecian  His- 
tory, chaps,  viii,  xi.  Oman,  C,  History  of  Greece,  chaps,  vii,  viii.  Bury,  J.  B., 
Histor)'  of  Greece,  chap.  iii. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  AGE  OF  COLONIZATION  AND  OF  TYRANNIES 
I.  THE  AGE   OF   COLONIZATION    (ABOUT    750-600  b.c.) 

113.  Causes  of  Greek  Colonization.  The  latter  half  of  the 
eighth  and  the  seventh  century  b.c.  constituted  a  period  in  Greek 
history  marked  by  great  activity  in  the  establishment  of  colonies. 
One  inciting  cause  of  this  outward  movement  at  this  time  was  the 
political  unrest  which  had  come  to  fill  almost  all  the  cities  of 
Greece.  Oligarchies  and  tyrannies  had  arisen,  and  the  people 
oftentimes  were  oppressed.  Thousands,  driven  from  their  homes, 
like  the  Puritans  in  the  time  of  the  Stuart  tyranny  in  England,  fled 
over  the  seas,  and,  under  the  direction  of  the  Delphian  Apollo, 
laid  upon  remote  and  widely  separated  shores  the  basis  of  "dis- 
persed Hellas."  The  growth  in  population,  the  expansion  of  the 
trade  of  the  homeland  cities,  and  the  Greek  love  of  adventure  also 
contributed  to  swell  the  number  of  emigrants. 

114.  Relation  of  a  Greek  Colony  to  its  Mother  City.  The 
history  of  the  Greek  colonies  would  be  unintelligible  without  an 
understanding  of  the  relation  in  which  a  Greek  colony  stood  to 
the  city  sending  out  the  emigrants.  There  was  a  wide  difference 
between  Greek  colonization  and  Roman.  The  Roman  colony  was 
subject  to  the  authority  of  the  mother  city.  The  Greek  colony, 
on  the  other  hand,  was,  in  almost  all  cases,  wholly  independent 
of  its  parent  city.  The  Greek  mind  could  not  entertain  the  idea 
of  one  city  as  rightly  ruling  over  another,  even  though  that  other 
were  her  own  daughter  colony. 

But  while  there  were  no  political  bonds  uniting  the  mother  city 
and  her  daughter  colonies,  still  the  colonies  were  attached  to  their 
parent  country  by  ties  of  kinship,  of  culture,  and  of  filial  piety. 
The  sacred  fire  on  the  altar  of  the  new  home  was  kindled  from 

73 


74        AGE  OF  COLONIZATION  AND  TYRANNIES    [§  115 

embers  piously  borne  by  the  emigrants  from  the  public  hearth  of 
the  mother  city,  and  testified  constantly  that  the  citizens  of  the 
two  cities  were  members  of  the  same  though  divided  family. 

The  feeling  the  colonists  had  for  their  mother  city  is  shown  by 
the  names  which  they  often  gave  to  the  prominent  objects  in  and 
about  their  new  home.  Just  as  the  affectionate  memory  of  the 
homes  from  which  they  had  gone  out  prompted  the  New  England 
colonists  to  reproduce  in  the  new  land  the  names  of  places  and 
objects  dear  to  them  in  the  old,  so  did  the  cherished  remembrance 
of  the  land  they  had  left  lead  the  Greek  emigrants  to  give  to  the 
streets  and  temples  and  fountains  and  hills  of  their  new  city  the 
familiar  and  endeared  names  of  the  old  home.  The  new  city  was 
simply  "a  home  away  from  home." 

115.  The  Chalcidian  Colonies  (about  750-650  b.c).  An  early 
colonizing  ground  of  the  Greeks  was  the  Macedonian  coast.  Here 
a  triple  promontory  juts  far  out  into  the  ^Egean.  On  this 
broken  shore  Chalcis  of  Euboea,  with  the  help  of  emigrants 
from  other  cities,  founded  so  many  colonies — thirty-two  owned 
her  as  their  mother  city  —  that  the  land  became  known  as 
Chalcidice. 

One  of  the  chief  attractions  of  this  shore  to  the  Greek  colonists 
was  the  rich  copper,  silver,  and  gold  deposits.  The  hills,  too,  were 
clothed  with  heavy  forests  which  furnished  excellent  timber  for 
shipbuilding,  and  this  was  an  important  item  of  export,  since  in 
many  parts  of  Greece  timber  was  scarce. 

116.  Colonies  on  the  Hellespont  and  the  Bosphorus.  A 
second  region  full  of  attractions  for  the  colonists  of  the  enter- 
prising commercial  cities  of  the  mother  country  was  that  embrac- 
ing the  Hellespont  and  the  Bosphorus.  These  water  channels, 
forming  as  they  do  the  gateway  to  the  northern  world,  early  drew 
the  attention  of  the  (ireek  traders.  Here  was  founded,  among 
other  cities,  Byzantium  (658  b.c).  The  city  was  built,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Delphian  oracle,'  on  one  of  the  most  magnificent 

1  The  managers  of  the  oracle,  doubtless  through  the  visitors  to  the  shrine,  kept  them- 
selves informed  respecting  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  .Mediterranean,  and  thus  were 
able  to  give  good  advice  to  those  contemplating  the  founding  of  a  new  settlement. 


«;-ftli» 


§  117]         COLONIES  IN  THE  EUXINE  REGION  75 

sites  for  a  great  emporium  that  the  ancient  world  afforded.    It 
was  destined  to  a  long  and  checkered  history. 

117.  Colonies  in  the  Euxine  Region.  The  tale  of  the  Argo- 
nauts (sect.  93)  shows  that  in  prehistoric  times  the  Greeks  prob- 
ably carried  on  trade  with  the  shores  of  the  Euxine.  The  chief 
products  of  the  region  were  fish,  grain,  and  cattle,  besides  timber, 
gold,  copper,  and  iron.  Still  another  object  of  commerce  was 
slaves.  This  region  was  a  sort  of  slave  hunters'  land, —  the  Africa 
of  Hellas.    It  supplied  to  a  great  degree  the  slave  markets  of 


i 


n 


^  .J>4-'-'     ^/. 


Fig.  34.    Ruined  Temples  at  PvEstum 

Paestum  was  the  Greek  Posidonia,  in  Lucania.   These  ruins  form  the  most  noteworthy 
existing  monuments  of  the  early  Greek  occupation  of  southern  Italy 

the  Hellenic  world.  In  the  modern  Caucasian  slave  trade  of  the 
Mohammedan  sultans  we  may  recognize  a  survival  of  a  commerce 
which  was  active  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago. 

Eighty  colonies  in  the  Euxine  are  said  to  have  owned  Miletus 
as  their  mother  city.  The  coasts  of  the  sea  became  so  crowded 
with  Greek  cities,  and  the  whole  region  was  so  astir  with  Greek 
enterprise,  that  the  Greeks  came  to  regard  this  quarter  of  the 
world,  once  looked  upon  as  so  remote  and  inhospitable,  as  almost 
a  part  of  the  home  country. 

118.  Colonies  in  Southern  Italy.  At  the  same  time  that  the 
tide  of  Hellenic  migration  was  flowing  towards  the  north  it  was 
also  flowing  towards  the  west.  Southern  Italy  became  so  thickly 
set  with  Greek  cities  as  to  become  known  as  Magna  Grxcia, 
"  Great  Greece."  Here  were  founded  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighth  century  b.c.  the  important  city  of  Taras,  the  Tarentum 


76        AGE  OF  COLONIZATION  AND  TYRANNIES    [§  119 

of  the  Romans,  and  the  ^uilian  city  of  Sybaris,  noted  for  the 
voluptuous  life  of  its  citizens,  whence  our  term  sybarite,  mean- 
ing a  person  given  to  sensual  pleasures. 

The  chief  importance  of  the  cities  of  Magna  Graecia  for  civili- 
zation springs  from  their  relations  to  Rome.  Through  them,  with- 
out doubt,  the  early  Romans  received  many  primary  elements  of 
culture,  deriving  thence  probably  their  knowledge  of  letters  as 
well  as  of  Greek  constitutional  law  (sect.  227). 

119.  Colonies  in  Sicily  and  in  Southern  Gaul.  The  island  of 
Sicily  is  in  easy  sight  from  the  Italian  shore.  About  the  same 
time  that  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  was  being  filled  with 
Greek  colonists,  this  island  was  also  receiving  swarms  of  immi- 
grants. Here  among  other  colonies  was  planted  by  the  Dorian 
Corinth  the  city  of  Syracuse  (734  B.C.),  which,  before  Rome  had 
become  great,  waged  war  on  equal  terms  with  Carthage. 

Sicily  was  the  most  disorderly  and  tumultuous  part  of  Hellas. 
It  was  the  "wild  West"  of  the  Hellenic  world.  It  was  the  land 
of  romance  and  adventure,  and  seems  to  have  drawn  to  itself  the 
most  untamed  and  venturesome  spirits  among  the  Greeks. 

The  coast  of  Gaul  where  the  Rhone  meets  the  sea  was  another 
region  occupied  by  Greek  colonists.  A  chief  attraction  here  was 
the  amber  and  tin  brought  overland  from  the  Baltic  and  from 
Britain.  Here  were  established  several  colonies,  chief  among 
which  was  Massilia  (about  600  r.c),  the  modern  Marseilles. 

120.  Colonies  in  North  Africa  and  Egypt.  In  the  Nile  Delta 
the  Greeks  early  established  the  important  station  of  Naucratis, 
which  was  the  gateway  through  which  Hellenic  influences  passed 
into  Egypt  and  Egyptian  influences  passed  out  into  Greece.  Some- 
time in  the  seventh  century  b.c,  in  obedience  to  the  commands 
of  the  Delphian  Apollo,  they  founded  on  the  African  coast  the 
important  colony  of  Cyrene,  which  became  the  metropolis  of  a 
large  district  known  as  Cyrenaica. 

121.  Place  of  the  Colonies  in  Grecian  History.  The  history  of 
dispersed  Hellas  is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  continental 
Hellas.  In  truth,  a  large  part  of  the  history  of  Greece  would  be 
unintelligible  should  we  lose  sight  of  Greater  Greece,  just  as  a 


S  122]   CHAR.'VCTER  OF  THE  GREEK  TYRANNIES         77 

large  part  of  the  history  of  Europe  since  the  seventeenth  century 
cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  Greater  Europe. 
In  colonial  interests,  rivalries,  and  jealousies  we  shall  find  the 
inciting  cause  of  many  of  the  contentions  and  wars  between  the 
cities  of  the  homeland. 

II.  THE  TYRANNIES  (ABOUT  650-500  b.c.) 

122.  The  Character  and  Origin  of  the  Greek  Tyrannies. 
The  latter  part  of  the  period  of  Greek  colonization  corresponds 
very  nearly  to  what  has  been  called  the  "Earlier  Age  of  the 
Tyrants,"^  of  whom  a  word  must  here  be  said. 

In  the  Heroic  Age  the  preferred  form  of  government  among  the 
Greeks  was  a  patriarchal  monarchy.  The  Iliad  says,  "The  rule 
of  many  is  not  a  good  thing :  let  us  have  one  ruler  only, — one 
king, — him  to  whom  Zeus  has  given  the  scepter."  But  by  the  dawn 
of  the  historic  period  the  patriarchal  monarchies  of  the  early  age 
had  given  place,  in  almost  all  the  Grecian  cities,  to  oligarchies  or 
aristocracies.  A  little  later,  just  as  the  Homeric  monarchies  had 
been  superseded  by  oligarchies,  so  were  these  in  many  of  the  Greek 
cities  superseded  by  tyrannies. 

By  the  term  tyrannos  ("tyrant")  the  Greeks  did  not  mean  one 
who  ruled  harshly,  but  simply  one  who  held  the  supreme  authority 
in  the  state  illegally.  Some  of  the  Greek  tyrants  were  beneficent 
rulers,  though  too  often  they  were  all  that  the  name  implies  among 
us.  There  was  hardly  an  important  Greek  city  which  did  not  at 
one  time  or  another  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  tyrant. 

Generally  the  person  setting  up  a  tyranny  was  some  ambitious 
member  of  the  aristocracy,  who  had  held  himself  out  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  people,  and  who,  aided  by  them,  had  succeeded  in 
overturning  the  hated  government  of  the  oligarchs. 

123.  The  Greek  Feeling  toward  the  Tyrants.  The  tyrants  sat 
upon  unstable  thrones.    The  Greeks,  always  lovers  of  freedom,  had 

1  For  a  hundred  years  after  the  expulsion  of  the  tyrants  from  Athens  (sect.  131)  there 
were  no  tyrants  in  Greece  proper,  and  for  a  great  part  of  this  time  there  were  no  tyrants 
anywhere  in  the  Greek  world.  In  the  fourth  century  B.r.  tyrants  arose  again,  particularly 
in  Sicily.  This  distribution  in  time  of  these  rulers  leads  some  historians  to  divide  the 
tyrannies  into  an  earlier  and  a  later  age. 


78        AGE  OF  COLOXIZATIOX  AND  TYRANNIES    [§  124 

an  inextinguishable  hatred  of  these  despots.  Furthermore,  the 
atrocious  crimes  of  some  of  them  caused  the  whole  class  to  be 
regarded  with  the  utmost  abhorrence, —  so  much  so  that  tyranni- 
cide, that  is,  the  killing  of  a  tyrant,  came  to  be  regarded  by  the 
Greeks  as  a  supremely  patriotic  and  virtuous  act.  Consequently 
the  tyrannies  were,  as  a  rule,  short-lived.  They  were  usually  vio- 
lently overthrown,  and  the  old  oligarchies  reestablished,  or  democ- 
racies set  up  in  their  place.  Speaking  broadly,  the  Dorian  cities 
preferred  aristocratic  and  the  Ionian  cities  democratic  government. 

124.  Influence  of  the  Tyrants  upon  Greek  Civilization.  The 
rule  of  the  tyrants  conferred  some  undoubted  benefits  upon  Greek 
civilization.  Through  the  connections  which  the  despots  formed 
with  foreign  kings  the  isolation  of  the  Greek  cities  was  broken. 
These  connections  between  the  courts  of  the  tyrants  and  those  of 
the  rulers  of  oriental  countries  opened  the  cities  of  the  Hellenic 
world  to  the  influences  of  those  lands  of  culture,  widened  their 
horizon,  and  enlarged  the  sphere  of  their  commercial  enterprise. 

Again,  the  tyrants  were  apt  to  be  liberal  patrons  of  art  and  lit- 
erature. Poetry  and  music  flourished  in  the  congenial  atmosphere 
of  their  luxurious  courts,  while  architecture  was  given  a  great 
impulse  by  the  public  buildings  and  works  which  many  of  them 
undertook  with  a  view  of  embellishing  their  capitals,  or  of  winning 
the  favor  of  the  poorer  classes  by  creating  opportunities  for  their 
employment.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  .\ge  of  the  Tyrants  was 
a  period  marked  by  an  unusually  rapid  advance  of  many  of  the 
Greek  cities  in  their  artistic,  intellectual,  and  industrial  life. 

References.  For  the  colonies  :  CuRTius,  E.,  vol.  i,  pp.  432-500.  Grote,  G. 
(ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  iii,  pp.  163-220,  247-275.  Ahhutt,  E.,  vol.  i,  pp.  333- 
365.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chap.  xxi.  Oman,  C,  History  of  Greece,  chap.  ix.  BuRY, 
J.  B.,  Ifistoty  of  Greece,  chap.  ii.    Kellkr,  A.  G.,  Colonization,  pp.  39-50. 

For  the  tyrannies  :  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  ii,  pp.  378-421.  Holm, 
A.,  vol.  i,  chap.  xxii.  Fowler,  W.  W.,  The  City-State  of  the  Greeks  an  J 
Romans,  chaps,  iv,  v.  Mahakfv.  J.  P..  Problems  in  Greek  History,  chap,  iv, 
and  Survey  of  Greek  Civilization,  pp.  99-io[.  Cox,  G.  W.,  Lives  of  Greek 
Statesmen,  "  Polykrates."  Herodotus,  iv,  150-153,  156-159  (on  the  Delphic 
oracle  and  Greek  colonization). 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  HISTORY  OF  ATHENS  UP  TO  THE  PERSIAN  WARS 

125.  The  Beginnings  of  Athens.  Four  or  five  miles  from  the 
sea,  a  little  hill,  about  one  thousand  feet  in  length  and  half  as  many 
in  width,  rises  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  plains  of  Attica.  The  security  afforded  by  this  eminence 
doubtless  led  to  its  selection  as  a  stronghold  by  the  early  settlers 
of  the  Attic  plains.  Here  a  few  buildings,  perched  upon  the  sum- 
mit of  the  rock,  and  surrounded  by  a  palisade,  constituted  the 
beginnings  of  the  capital  whose  fame  has  spread  over  all  the  world. 

126.  The  Archons,  the  Council  of  the  Areopagus,  and  the 
General  Assembly.  In  prehistoric  times  Athens,  like  all  other 
Greek  cities,  was  ruled  by  kings.  The  name  of  Theseus  is  the 
most  noted  of  the  regal  line.  By  the  opening  of  the  seventh  cen- 
tury B.C.  a  board  of  nine  persons,  called  Archons,  of  whom  the 
king  in  a  subordinate  position  was  one,  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
Athenian  state.    The  ancient  monarchy  had  become  an  oligarchy. 

Besides  the  board  of  Archons  there  was  in  the  Athenian  state 
at  this  time  a  very  important  tribunal,  called  the  Council  of  the 
Areopagus.^  This  council  was  composed  exclusively  of  ex-Archons, 
and  consequently  was  a  purely  aristocratic  body.  Its  members 
held  office  for  life.  The  duty  of  the  council  was  to  see  that  the 
laws  were  duly  observed,  and  to  judge  and  punish  transgressors. 
There  was  no  appeal  from  its  decisions.  This  council  was,  at  the 
opening  of  the  historic  period,  the  real  power  in  the  Athenian  state. 

In  addition  to  the  board  of  Archons  and  the  Council  of  the 
Areopagus,  there  is  some  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  general 
assembly  ('EK/cAi^o-ta,  Ecclesia),  in  which  all  those  who  served  in 
the  heavy-armed  forces  of  the  state  had  a  place. 

1  So  called  from  the  name  of  the  hill  "Apetos  7rd7os,  "  Hill  of  Ares,"  which  was  the 
assembling  place  of  the  council.   See  Acts  xvii,  22-31. 

79 


8o 


THE  HISTORY  OF  ATHENS 


[§127 


127.  Classes  in  the  Athenian  State.  The  leading  class  in  the 
Athenian  state  were  the  nobles.  These  men  were  wealthy  land- 
owners, a  large  part  of  the  best  soil  of  Attica,  it  is  said,  being 
held  by  them. 

Beneath  the  nobles  we  find  the  body  of  the  nominally  free 
inhabitants.  Many  of  them  were  tenants  living  in  a  state  little 
removed  from  serfdom  upon  the  estates  of  the  wealthy  nobles. 

They  paid  rent  in 
kind  to  their  land- 
lords, and  in  case 
of  failure  to  pay, 
they,  together  with 
their  wives  and 
children,  might  be 
seized  by  the  pro- 
prietor and  sold 
as  slaves.  Others 
owned  their  little 
farms,  but  at  the 
time  of  which  we 
are  speaking  had 
fallen  deeply  in 
debt.  Thus  because  of  their  wretched  economic  condition,  as 
well  as  because  of  their  exclusion  from  the  government,  these 
classes  among  the  common  people  were  filled  with  bitterness 
toward  the  nobles  and  were  ready  for  revolution. 

128.  Draco's  Code  (62i  B.C.).  It  was  probably  to  quiet  the 
people  and  to  save  the  state  from  anarchy  that  the  nobles  at  this 
time  appointed  a  person  named  Draco,  one  of  their  own  order, 
to  write  out  and  publish  the  laws.' 

In  carrying  into  effect  his  commission,  Draco  probably  did  little 
more  than  reduce  existing  rules  and  customs  to  a  definite  and 

'  Up  to  this  time  the  rules  and  customs  of  the  city  had  been  unwritten,  and  hence 
the  magistrates,  who  belonged  to  the  order  of  the  nobiiily  and  alone  administered  the 
laws,  could  and  often  did  interpret  them  unfairly  in  favor  of  their  own  class.  The 
people  demanded  that  the  customs  should  be  put  in  writing  and  published,  so  that 
everyone  might  know  just  what  they  were  (compare  sect.  247). 


Fig.  36.    The  Bema,  or  Ukator's  Sta.nd,  on 
THE  Pnvx  Hill,  Athens.  (From  a  photograph) 


§  129]  THE  REFORMS  OF  SOLON  8i 

written  form.  The  laws  as  published  were  very  severe.  Death 
was  the  penalty  for  the  smallest  theft.  This  severity  of  the 
Draconian  laws  is  what  caused  a  later  Athenian  orator  to  say 
that  they  were  written  "not  in  ink,  but  in  blood." 

There  was  one  real  and  great  defect  in  Draco's  work.  He  did 
not  accomplish  anything  in  the  way  of  economic  reform,  and 
thus  did  nothing  to  give  relief  to  those  who  were  struggling  with 
poverty  and  were  the  victims  of  the  harsh  laws  of  debt. 

129.  The  Reforms  of  Solon  (594  B.C.).  The  condition  of  the 
poorer  classes  grew  more  and  more  unendurable.  Some  radical 
measures  of  relief  became  necessary.  Once  more,  as  in  the  time 
of  Draco,  the  Athenians  resolved  to  place  their  laws  in  the  hands 
of  a  single  man,  to  be  remodeled  as  he  might  deem  best.  Solon, 
a  man  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  classes,  was  selected  to  discharge 
this  responsible  duty.  Solon  turned  his  attention  first  to  relieving 
the  misery  of  the  debtor  class.  He  canceled  all  debts  of  every 
kind,  both  public  and  private.'  Moreover,  that  there  might  never 
again  be  seen  in  Attica  the  spectacle  of  men  dragged  off  in  chains 
to  be  sold  as  slaves  in  payment  of  their  debts,  Solon  forbade  the 
practice  of  securing  debts  on  the  body  of  the  debtor.  No  Athenian 
was  ever  after  this  sold  for  debt. 

Such  was  the  most  important  of  the  economic  reforms  of  Solon. 
His  constitutional  reforms  were  equally  wise  and  beneficent.  The 
Ecclesia,  or  popular  assembly,  was  at  this  time  composed  of  all 
those  persons  who  were  able  to  provide  themselves  with  arms  and 
armor ;  that  is  to  say,  of  all  the  members  of  the  three  highest  of 
the  four  propertied  classes  into  which  the  people  were  divided. 
The  fourth  and  poorest  class,  the  Thetes,  were  excluded.  Solon 
opened  the  Ecclesia  to  them,  giving  them  the  right  to  vote  but 
not  to  hold  office.  He  also  made  other  changes  in  the  constitu- 
tion whereby  the  magistrates  became  responsible  to  the  people, 
who  henceforth  not  only  elected  them  but  judged  them  in  case 
they  did  wrong. 

1  This  is  Aristotle's  account  of  the  matter  {Athenian  Constiiuiion,  ch.6).  According 
to  other  accounts,  Solon  annulled  only  debts  secured  on  land  or  on  the  person  of  the 
debtor.    Solon  also  reformed  the  monetary  system. 


82 


THE  HISTORY  OF  ATHENS 


[§130 


130.  The  Tyrant  Pisistratus  (560-527  B.C.).  The  reforms  of 
Solon  naturally  worked  hardship  to  many  persons.  These  became 
bitter  enemies  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Moreover,  the  reformed 
constitution  failed  to  work  smoothly.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
situation,  Pisistratus,  an  ambitious  noble,  with  a  small  force 
seized  the  Acropolis  and  made  himself  master  of  Athens.    Though 

twice  expelled  from  the  city,  he  as 
often  returned  and  reinstated  him- 
self in  the  tyranny. 

Pisistratus  may  be  taken  as  a 
type  of  the  better  class  of  Greek 
tyrants.  He  gave  Athens  a  mild 
rule,  and  under  him  the  city  en- 
joyed a  period  of  great  prosperity. 
He  established  religious  festivals, 
adorned  the  city  with  splendid 
buildings,  and  is  said  also  to  have 
added  to  the  embellishments  of  the 
Lyceum,  a  sort  of  public  park  just 
outside  the  city  walls,  which  in 
after  times  became  one  of  the  fa- 
vorite resorts  of  the  poets,  phi- 
losophers, and  pleasure  seekers  of 
the  capital. 

131.  Expulsion  of  the  Tyrants 
from  Athens  (510  B.C.).  The  two 
sons  of  Pisistratus,  Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  succeeded  to  his 
power.  At  first  they  emulated  the  example  of  their  father,  and 
Athens  flourished  under  their  rule.  But  at  length  an  unfortunate 
event  gave  an  entirely  different  tone  to  the  government.  Hip- 
parchus having  insulted  a  young  noble  named  Harmodius,  this 
man,  in  connection  with  his  friend  Aristogiton  and  some  others, 
planned  to  assassinate  both  the  tyrants.  Hipparchus  was  slain, 
but  the  plans  of  the  conspirators  miscarried  as  to  Hippias.  Har- 
modius was  struck  down  by  the  guards  of  the  tyrants,  and 
Aristogiton  was  seized  and  put  to  death. 


Fig.   37.       The     Athenian 

Tyrannicides,     Harmodius 

AND  Aristogiton 

Marble  statues  in  the  Naples  Mu- 
seum, recognized  as  ancient  copies  of 
the  bronze  statues  set  up  at  Athens  in 
commemoration  of  the  assassination 
of  the  tyrant  Hipparchus 


§  132]  THE  REFORMS  OF  CLISTHENES  83 

We  have  already  spoken  of  how  tyrannicide  appeared  to  the 
Greek  mind  as  an  eminently  praiseworthy  act  (sect.  123).  This 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  grateful  and  venerated  remembrance  in 
which  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  were  ever  held  by  the  Athenians. 
Statues  were  raised  in  their  honor  (Fig.  37),  and  the  story  of  their 
deed  was  rehearsed  to  the  youth  as  an  incentive  to  patriotism  and 
self-devotion. 

The  plot  had  a  most  unhappy  effect  upon  the  disposition  of 
Hippias.  It  caused  him  to  become  suspicious  and  severe.  His 
rule  now  became  a  tyranny  indeed.  He  was  finally  driven  out 
of  the  city. 

132.  The  Reforms  of  Clisthenes  (508  B.C.).  Straightway  upon 
the  expulsion  of  the  tyrant  Hippias,  old  feuds  between  factions  of 
the  nobles  broke  out  afresh.  A  prominent  noble  named  Clisthenes, 
head  of  one  of  the  factions,  feeling  that  he  was  not  receiving  in  the 
way  of  coveted  office  the  recognition  from  his  own  order  which  his 
merits  deserved,  allied  himself  with  the  common  people  as  their 
champion.  He  thus  got  control  of  affairs  in  the  state.  With  power 
once  in  his  hands  he  used  it  to  remold  the  constitution  into  a  form 
still  more  democratic  than  that  given  it  by  Solon. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  his  measures  was  that  by  which 
he  conferred  citizenship  upon  a  great  body  of  poor  Athenians  who 
had  hitherto  been  excluded  from  the  rights  of  the  city,  and  also 
upon  many  resident  aliens  and  freedmen.  This  measure,  which 
was  effected  through  a  regrouping  of  the  people,  made  such  radical 
changes  in  the  constitution  in  the  interests  of  the  masses  that 
Clisthenes  has  been  called  "the  second  founder  of  the  Athenian 
democracy." 

133.  Ostracism.  Among  the  other  innovations  or  institutions 
generally  ascribed  to  Clisthenes  was  the  celebrated  one  known  as 
ostracism.  By  means  of  this  process  any  person  who  had  excited 
the  suspicions  or  displeasure  of  the  people  could  by  popular  vote, 
without  trial,  be  banished  from  Athens  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 
The  name  of  the  person  whose  banishment  was  sought  was  written 
on  a  shell  or  a  piece  of  pottery,  in  Greek  ostrakon  {oa-rpaKov), 
whence  the  term  ostracism. 


84  THE  HISTORY  OF  ATHENS  .  [§  134 

The  design  of  this  institution  was  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of 
such  a  usurpation  as  that  of  Pisistratus.  It  was  first  used  to  get 
rid  of  some  of  the  old  friends  of  the  ex-tyrant  Hippias,  whom  the 
Athenians  distrusted.  Later  the  vote  came  to  be  employed,  as  a 
rule,  simply  to  settle  disputes  between  rival  leaders  of  political 
parties.  Thus  the  vote  merely  expressed  political  preference,  the 
ostracized  person  being  simply  the  defeated  candidate  for  popular 
favor.    No  stigma  or  disgrace  attached  to  him. 

The  power  that  the  device  of  ostracism  lodged  in  the  hands  of 
the  people  was  not  always  wisely  used,  and  some  of  the  ablest  and 
most  patriotic  statesmen  of  Athens  were  sent  into  exile  through 
the  influence  of  some  demagogue  who  for  the  moment  had  caught 
the  popular  ear.^ 

134.  Sparta  Opposes  the  Athenian  Democracy.  The  aristo- 
cratic party  at  Athens  was  naturally  bitterly  opposed  to  all  these 
democratic  innovations.  The  Spartans  also  viewed  with  disquiet 
and  jealousy  this  rapid  growth  of  the  Athenian  democracy,  and, 
inviting  Hippias  over  from  Asia,  tried  to  overthrow  the  new  gov- 
ernment and  restore  him  to  power.  But  they  did  not  succeed  in 
their  purpose,  because  their  allies  refused  to  aid  them  in  such  an 
undertaking,  and  Hippias  went  away  to  Persia  to  seek  aid  of 
King  Darius. 

References.  ri.rTARru,  So/on.  Curtius,  E.,  vol.  i,  pp.  316-431.  Grote, 
G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  ii,  pp.  422-529;  vol.  iii,  pp.  324-398.  AnnoTT,  E., 
vol.  1,  chaps,  ix,  xiii,  xv.  The  accounts  of  the  Athenian  constitution  in  Curtius, 
Grote,  and  Abbott,  which  were  written  before  the  discovery  of  the  Aristotelian 
treatise  (Athenian  Constitution),  must  be  read  in  the  light  of  the  new  evidence. 
Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chaps,  xxvi-xxviii.  IIorKi.vsoN,  L.  W.,  Greek  Leaders,  pp.  i- 
17,  "  Solon."  Co.x,  G.  W.,  Lives  of  Greek  Statesmen,  "  Solon,"  "  Pcisistratus," 
and  "  Kleisthenes."  BuRV,  J.  B.,  History'  of  Greece,  chap,  iv,  sect,  iv  ;  chap,  v, 
sect.  ii.  TucKKK,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap,  ii  (on  the  environ- 
ment of  Athens).  Young  readers  will  enjoy  IIarriso.n,  J.  A.,  Stoiy  of  Greece, 
chaps,  xvi-xviii. 

1  The  institution  was  short-lived.  It  was  resorted  to  for  the  last  time  during  the 
Peloponnesian  War  (418  B.C.).  The  people  then,  in  a  freak,  ostracized  a  man,  Hyper- 
bolus  by  name,  whom  all  admitted  to  be  the  meanest  man  in  Athens.  This,  it  is  said, 
was  regarded  as  such  a  degradation  of  the  institution,  as  well  as  such  an  honor  to  the 
mean  man,  that  never  thereafter  did  the  Athenians  degrade  a  good  man  or  honor  a  bad 
one  by  a  resort  to  the  measure. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  PERSIAN  WARS 
(500-479  B.C.) 

135.  The  Real  Cause  of  the  Persian  Wars.  In  a  foregoing 
chapter  we  showed  how  the  expansive  energies  of  the  Greek  race, 
chiefly  during  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  b.c,  covered  the 
islands  and  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  world  with  a  free,  hberty- 
loving,  progressive,  and  ever-growing  population  of  Hellenic  speech 
and  culture.  The  first  half  of  the  sixth  century  had  barely  passed 
before  this  promising  expansion  movement  was  first  checked  and 
then  seriously  cramped  by  the  rise  of  a  great  despotic  Asiatic 
power,  the  Persian  Empire.  By  the  opening  of  the  fifth  century 
B.C.  all  the  Asian  Greek  cities  had  been  enslaved,  and  the  ^gean 
had  become  practically  a  Persian  lake.  These  encroachments 
threatened  to  leave  the  Greeks  no  standing  room  on  the  earth. 
Here  must  be  sought  the  real  cause  of  the  memorable  wars  between 
Hellas  and  Persia. 

136.  The  Ionian  Revolt  (soob.c).  The  Greek  cities  reduced 
to  servitude  by  Persia  could  neither  long  nor  quietly  endure  the 
loss  of  their  independence.  In  the  year  500  B.C.  Ionia  became 
the  center  of  a  formidable  rebellion  against  the  Great  King.'  The 
Athenians  sent  twenty  ships  to  the  aid  of  their  Ionian  kinsmen. 
Sardis  was  taken  and  burned.  Defeated  in  battle,  the  Athenians 
forsook  their  Ionian  confederates  and  sailed  back  to  Athens. 

This  unfortunate  expedition  was  destined  to  have  tremendous 
consequences.  The  Athenians  had  not  only  burned  Sardis,  but 
''had  set  the  whole  world  on  fire."   When  the  news  of  the  affair 

1  Darius  I.'  See  sect.  67. 
85 


86  THE  PERSIAN  WARS  [§  137 

reached  Darius  at  Susa,  he  asked,  Herodotus  tells  us,  who  the 
Athenians  were  and,  being  told,  took  his  bow  and  shot  an  arrow 
upward  into  the  sky,  saying  as  he  let  fly  the  shaft,  "  Grant,  O  Zeus, 
that  I  may  have  vengeance  on  the  Athenians."  After  this  speech 
he  bade  one  of  his  servants  every  day  repeat  to  him  three  times 
these  w^ords :  "  Master,  remember  the  Athenians." 

137.  The  First  Expedition  of  Darius  against  Greece  (492  B.C.). 
The  Ionian  revolt  having  been  crushed  and  punished,  Darius  deter- 
mined to  chastise  the  European  Greeks,  and  particularly  the  Athe- 
nians, for  giving  aid  to  his  rebellious  subjects.  A  large  land  and 
naval  armament  was  fitted  out  for  the  conquest  of  Greece.  The 
land  forces  suffered  severe  losses  at  the  hands  of  the  barbarians  of 
Thrace,  and  the  fleet  was  wrecked  by  a  violent  storm  off  Mount 
Athos,  three  hundred  ships  being  lost. 

138.  The  Second  Expedition  of  Darius ;  the  Battle  of 
Marathon  (490  B.C.).  Undismayed  by  this  disaster,  Darius  issued 
orders  for  the  raising  and  equipping  of  another  and  stronger  arma- 
ment. Soon  a  large  force  had  been  mustered  for  a  second  attempt 
upon  Greece.  A  fleet  of  six  hundred  ships  bore  the  army  from  the 
coasts  of  Asia  Minor  over  the  ^^gean  toward  the  Grecian  shores. 
After  receiving  the  submission  of  the  most  important  of  the 
Cyclades,  the  Persians  landed  at  Marathon,  barely  one  day's 
journey  from  Athens.  Instead  of  awaiting  behind  their  walls  the 
coming  of  the  Persians,  the  Athenians  decided  to  offer  them  battle 
in  the  open  field  at  Marathon.  Accordingly  they  marched  out 
ten  thousand  strong. 

Meanwhile  a  fleet  runner,  Phidippides  by  name,  was  hurrying 
with  a  message  to  Sparta  for  aid.  In  just  thirty -six  hours  Phidip- 
pides was  in  Sparta,  which  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  or  forty 
miles  from  Athens.  Now  it  so  happened  that  it  lacked  a  few  days 
of  the  full  of  the  moon,  during  which  interval  the  Spartans,  owing 
to  an  old  superstition,  dared  not  set  out  upon  a  military  expedition. 
They  promised  aid,  but  moved  only  in  time  to  reach  Athens  after 
all  was  over. 

The  battle  was  begun  by  the  .Athenians  under  their  general 
Miltiades.    The  issue  was  for  a  time  doubtful.    Then  the  tide 


§  139]   RESULTS  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  MARATHON       87 

turned  in  favor  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  Persians  were  driven  to 
their  ships  with  great  slaughter.  After  threatening  Athens  with 
attack,  but  finding  the  Athenians  ready  to  receive  them,  the 
Persians  sailed  away  for  the  Ionian  shore. 

139.  Results  of  the  Battle  of  Marathon.  The  battle  of  Mara- 
thon is  justly  reckoned  as  one  of  the  "decisive  battles  of  the 
world."  It  marks  a  turning  point  in  the  history  of  humanity. 
By  the  victory  Hellenic  civilization  was  saved  to  mature  its  fruit, 
not  for  Hellas  alone  but  for  the  world.  We  cannot  conceive  what 
European  civilization  would  be  like  without  those  rich  and  vitaliz- 
ing elements  contributed  to  it  by  the  Greek,  and  especially  by  the 
Athenian,  genius.  But  the  germs  of  all  these  might  have  been 
smothered  and  destroyed  had  the  barbarians  won  the  day  at 
Marathon.  Ancient  Greece,  as  a  satrapy  of  the  Persian  Empire, 
would  certainly  have  become  what  modern  Greece  became  as  a 
province  of  the  empire  of  the  Ottoman  Turks. 

The  great  achievement  further  inspired  the  Athenians  with 
self-confidence.  They  did  great  things  thereafter  because  they 
believed  themselves  able  to  do  them.  From  the  battle  of  Marathon 
dates  the  beginning  of  the  great  days  of  imperial  Athens. 

140.  Themistocles  and  his  Naval  Policy;  Aristides  Opposes 
him  and  is  Ostracized  (483  B.C.).  Many  among  the  Athenians 
were  inclined  to  believe  that  the  battle  of  Marathon  had  freed 
Athens  forever  from  the  danger  of  a  Persian  invasion.  But  there 
was  at  least  one  among  them  who  w^s  clear-sighted  enough  to 
see  that  that  battle  was  only  the  beginning  of  a  great  struggle. 
This  was  Themistocles,  a  sagacious,  farsighted,  versatile  states- 
man, who,  in  his  own  words,  though  "he  knew  nothing  of  music 
and  song,  did  know  how  of  a  small  city  to  make  a  great  one."  The 
policy  he  urged  upon  the  Athenians  was  to  strengthen  their  navy 
as  the  only  reliable  defense  of  Hellas  against  subjection  to  the 
Persian  power. 

Themistocles  was  opposed  in  this  policy  by  Aristides,  called  the 
Just,  a  man  of  the  most  scrupulous  integrity,  who  feared  that 
Athens  would  make  a  serious  mistake  if  she  converted  her  land 
force  into  a  naval   armament.    The  contention   grew   so   sharp 


88  THE  PERSIAN  WARS  [§  141 

between  the  two  that  ostracism  was  called  into  use  to  decide  the 
matter.  Six  thousand  votes  were  cast  against  Aristides,  and  he 
was  sent  into  exile. 

It  is  related  that  while  the  vote  that  ostracized  him  was  being 
taken  in  the  popular  assembly,  an  illiterate  peasant,  who  was  a 
stranger  to  Aristides,  asked  him  to  write  the  name  of  Aristides 
upon  his  tablet.  As  he  placed  the  name  desired  upon  the  shell, 
the  statesman  asked  the  man  what  wrong  Aristides  had  ever  done 
him.  "None,"  responded  the  voter;  ''I  do  not  even  know  him; 
but  I  am  tired  of  hearing  him  called  the  Just." 

After  the  banishment  of  Aristides,  Themistocles  was  free  to 
carry  out  his  naval  policy  without  serious  opposition,  and  soon 
Athens  had  the  largest  fleet  of  any  Greek  city,  with  a  splendid 
harbor  at  Piraeus. 

141.  The  Invasion  of  Greece  by  Xerxes ;  the  Battle  of 
Thermopylae  (480  B.C.).  As  soon  as  news  of  the  disaster  at  Mara- 
thon reached  Darius  he  began  preparations  to  avenge  this  second 
defeat.  In  the  midst  of  these  plans  for  revenge  death  cut  short  his 
reign.  His  son  Xerxes  succeeded  him,  and,  after  some  delay, 
pushed  forward  with  energy  the  preparations  already  begun.  To 
facilitate  the  march  of  his  armies,  Xerxes  caused  to  be  constructed 
a  double  bridge  of  boats  across  the  Hellespont.  This  work  was 
in  the  hands  of  Egyptian  and  Phoenician  artisans. 

With  the  first  indications  of  the  opening  spring  of  480  B.C., 
just  ten  years  after  the  defeat  at  Marathon,  a  vast  Persian  army 
was  concentrating  from  all  points  upon  the  Hellespont.  The  pas- 
sage of  the  strait,  as  pictured  in  the  inimitable  narration  of 
Herodotus,  is  one  of  the  most  dramatic  of  all  the  spectacles  af- 
forded by  history.  Herodotus  affirms  that  for  seven  days  and 
seven  nights  the  bridges  igroaned  beneath  the  living  tide  that  Asia 
was  pouring  into  Europe.' 

Leading  from  northern  into  central  Greece  is  a  narrow  pass, 
pressed   on   one  side  by   the   sea  and   on    the   other   by   rugged 

1  According  to  Ik-rodotus,  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  Xerxes  amounted  to 
2,317,000  men,  besides  about  2,000,000  slaves  and  attendants.  It  is  certain  that  these 
figures  are  a  great  exaggeration,  and  that  the  actual  number  of  the  Persian  army  could 
not  have  exceeded  600,000  men  aside  from  attendants  and  camp  followers. 


§  141]  THE  BATTLE  OF  THERMOPYLAE  89 

mountain  ridges.  At  the. foot  of  the  cliffs  break  forth  several  hot 
springs,  whence  the  name  of  the  pass,  Thermopylae,  or  Hot  Gates. 
Here  the  Greeks  had  decided  to  make  their  first  stand  against  the 
invaders.  Leonidas,  king  of  Sparta,  with  three  hundred  Spartan 
soldiers  and  about  six  thousand  allies  from  different  states,  held 
the  pass. 

The  Spartans  could  be  driven  from  their  advantageous  position 
only  by  an  attack  in  front,  as  the  Grecian  fleet  prevented  Xerxes 
from  landing  a  force  in  their  rear.  Before  attacking  them,  Xerxes 
summoned  them  to  give  up  their  arms.  The  answer  of  Leonidas 
was,  "Come  and  take  them."  For  two  days  the  Persians  tried 
in  vain  to  storm  the  pass.  Even  the  Ten  Thousand  Immortals,^ 
the  famous  bodyguard  of  the  Great  King,  were  hurled  back  from 
the  Spartan  front  like  waves  from  a  cliff. 

But  an  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  a  native  Greek,  Ephialtes 
by  name,  "the  Judas  of  Greece,"  rendered  unavailing  all  the  brav- 
ery of  the  keepers  of  the  pass.  This  man,  hoping  for  a  large 
reward,  revealed  to  Xerxes  a  bypath  leading  over  the  mountain  to 
the  rear  of  the  Greeks.  The  startling  intelligence  was  brought  to 
Leonidas  that  the  Persians  were  descending  the  mountain  path  in 
his  rear.  Realizing  that  the  pass  could  no  longer  be  held,  the  most 
of  the  allies  now  withdrew  from  the  place  while  opportunity  still 
remained ;  but  for  Leonidas  and  his  Spartan  companions  there 
could  be  no  thought  of  retreat.  Death  in  the  pass,  the  defense 
of  which  had  been  intrusted  to  them,  was  all  that  Spartan  honor 
and  Spartan  law  now  left  them.  The  next  day,  surrounded  by  the 
Persian  host,  they  fought  with  desperate  valor ;  but,  overwhelmed 
by  mere  numbers,  they  were  slain  to  the  last  man. 

The  fight  at  Thermopylae  echoed  through  all  the  after  centuries 
of  Grecian  history.  The  Greeks  felt  that  all  Hellas  had  gained 
great  glory  on  that  day  when  Leonidas  and  his  companions  fell, 
and  they  gave  them  a  chief  place  among  their  national  heroes. 
Memorial  pillars  marked  for  coming  generations  the  sacred  spot, 
while  praising  inscriptions  and  epitaphs  told  in  brief  phrases  the 

1  This  body  of  picked  soldiers  was  so  called  because  its  number  was  always  kept  up 
to  ten  thousand. 


90  THE  PERSIAN  WARS  [§  142 

story  of  the  battle.  Among  these  was  an  inscription  which, 
commemorating  at  once  Spartan  law  and  Spartan  valor,  read, 
"Stranger,  go  tell  the  Lacedaemonians  that  we  lie  here  in  obedience 
to  their  commands  ! " 

142.  The  Athenians  abandon  their  City  and  betake  them- 
selves to  their  Ships.  Athens  now  lay  open  to  the  invaders. 
Counsels  were  divided.  The  Delphian  oracle  had  obscurely  de- 
clared, "When  everything  else  in  the  land  of  Cecrops  shall  be 
taken,  Zeus  grants  to  Athena  that  the  wooden  walls  alone  shall 
remain  unconquered,  to  defend  you  and  your  children."  The 
oracle  was  believed  to  be,  as  was  declared,  "firm  as  adamant." 
But  there  were  various  opinions  as  to  what  was  meant  by  the 
"  wooden  walls."  Some  thought  the  Pythian  priestess  directed  the 
Athenians  to  seek  refuge  in  the  forests  on  the  mountains ;  others, 
that  the  oracle  meant  they  should  defend  the  Acropolis,  which  in 
early  times  had  been  surrounded  with  a  palisade  ;  but  Themistocles 
(who  it  is  thought  may  have  himself  prompted  the  oracle)  con- 
tended that  the  ships  were  plainly  indicated. 

The  last  interpretation  was  acted  upon.  All  the  soldiers  of 
Attica  were  crowded  upon  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  at  Salamis.  The 
aged  men,  with  the  women  and  children,  were  carried  out  of  the 
country  to  different  places  of  safety.  All  the  towns  of  Attica,  with 
the  capital,  were  thus  abandoned  to  the  conquerors.  A  few  days 
later  the  Persians  entered  the  deserted  plain,  and  burned  the 
empty  towns.  The  revered  temples  of  the  citadel  of  Athens  were 
plundered  and  given  to  the  flames.    Sardis  was  avenged. 

143.  The  Naval  Battle  of  Salamis  (480  B.C.).  Just  off  the  coast 
of  Attica  lies  the  island  of  Salamis.  Here  lay  the  Greek  fleet, 
awaiting  the  Persians.  Xerxes,  deceived  by  Themistocles  respect- 
ing the  state  of  things  among  the  Greek  allies,  ordered  an  im- 
mediate attack.  From  a  lofty  throne  upon  the  shore  he  himself 
overlooked  the  scene  and  watched  the  result.  The  Persian  fleet 
was  broken  to  pieces  and  two  hundred  of  the  ships  destroyed. 

The  blow  was  decisive.  Xerxes,  fearing  that  treachery  might 
destroy  the  Hellespontine  bridges,  instantly  dispatched  a  hundred 
ships  to  protect  them  ;  and  then,  leaving  Mardonius  with  a  large 


§  144]  MEMORIALS  AND  TROPHIES  OF  THE  WAR       91 

force  to  retrieve  the  disaster  of  Salamis,  the  monarch  with  a  strong 
escort  made  a  hasty  retreat  into  Asia.  The  following  year,  in  a 
memorable  battle  known  as  the  battle  of  Platsea,  Mardonius  was 
slain  and  his  army  virtually  annihilated.  Soon  all  European 
Greece,  together  with  the  Hellespont  and  the  ^gean  islands, 
was,  in  the  phrase  of  Herodotus,  "restored  to  Grecian  freedom." 

144.  Memorials  and  Trophies  of  the  War.  The  glorious  issue 
of  the  war  caused  an  outburst  of  joy  and  exultation  throughout 
Greece.  Poets,  artists,  and  orators  vied  with  one  another  in  com- 
memorating the  deeds  of  the  heroes  whose  valor  had  averted  the 
impending  peril.  The  dramatist  ^Eschylus,  who  had  fought  at 
Marathon  and  perhaps  at  Salamis  and  Plataea,  erected  an  eternal 
monument  in  literature  in  his  Persians,  which,  eight  years  after 
the  battle,  was  presented  at  Athens  before  twenty  thousand  specta- 
tors, many  of  whom  had  had  part  in  the  fight ;  and  the  great  artist 
Polygnotus  painted  on  the  walls  of  a  public  porch  at  Athens  the 
battle  of  Marathon.  In  truth,  the  great  literature  and  art  of  the 
golden  age  of  Athens  were  an  imperishable  memorial  of  the  war. 

Nor  did  the  pious  Greeks  think  that  the  marvelous  deliverance 
had  been  effected  without  the  intervention  of  the  gods  in  their 
behalf.  To  the  temple  at  Delphi  was  gratefully  consecrated  a 
tenth  of  the  immense  spoils  in  gold  and  silver  from  the  field  of 
Plataea ;  and  upon  the  Acropolis  at  Athens  was  erected  a  colossal 
statue  of  Athena,  made  from  the  brazen  arms  gathered  from  the 
field  at  Marathon,  while  within  the  sanctuary  of  the  goddess  were 
placed  the  broken  cables  of  the  Hellespontine  bridges,  at  once  a 
proud  trophy  of  victory  and  a  signal  illustration  of  the  divine 
punishment  that  had  befallen  the  impious  attempt  of  the  bar- 
barians to  lay  a  yoke  upon  the  sacred  waters  of  the  Hellespont. 

References.  Plutarch,  Thonistodcs  and  AristiJes.  .-Ivschylus.  The 
Persians  (a  historical  drama  which  celebrates  the  victory  of  Salamis). 
CuRTius,  E.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  135-352.  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  iii,  pp.  399- 
521  ;  vol.  iv,  pp.  1-294.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  i,  chaps,  xxiii,  xxiv ;  vol.  ii,  chaps,  i-vi. 
Abbott,  E.,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  i-v.  Co.X,  G.  W.,  The  Greeks  and  the  Persians. 
Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  chap,  i,  "The  Rattle  of  Mara- 
thon." HoPKlNSON,  L.  W.,  Greek  Leaders,  pp.  19-36,  "Themistocles."  Church, 
A.  J.,  Pictures  from  Greek  Life  and  Story,  chaps,  iii-viii  (juvenile). 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE 

145.  The  Formation  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos  (477  B.C.). 
Soon  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Persians  from  Greece  the  Ionian 
states,  in  order  that  they  might  be  able  to  carry  on  more  effectively 
the  work  to  which  they  had  set  their  hands,  namely,  the  liberating 
of  the  Greek  cities  yet  in  the  power  of  the  Persians,  formed  a 
league  known  as  the  Confederacy  of  Delos.  Sparta  and  her 
Peloponnesian  allies  were  excluded  from  the  league  on  account  of 
the  treachery  of  the  Spartan  Pausanias,  who  had  been  in  command 
of  the  allied  fleet.  The  league  was  a  free  association  of  independent 
and  equal  states,  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  in  number.  Athens 
was  to  be  the  head  of  the  confederacy.  Matters  of  common  con- 
cern were  to  be  in  the  hands  of  a  congress  convened  yearly  in  the 
sacred  island  of  Delos  and  composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  cities. 

M  Delos,  also,  in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  was  to  be  kept  the 
common  treasure  chest,  to  which  each  state  was  to  make  contri- 
bution according  to  its  ability.  What  proportion  of  the  ships  and 
money  should  be  contributed  by  the  several  states  for  carrying 
out  the  purposes  of  the  union  was  left  at  first  entirely  to  the 
decision  of  Aristides,  such  was  the  confidence  all  possessed  in  his 
fairness  and  incorruptible  integrity  ;  and  so  long  as  he  retained 
control  of  the  matter,  none  of  the  allies  ever  had  cause  for 
complaint. 

The  formation  of  this  Delian  League  constitutes  a  prominent 
landmark  in  Grecian  history.  It  meant  not  simply  the  transfer 
from  Sparta  to  Athens  of  leadership  in  the  maritime  affairs  of 
Hellas.  It  meant  that  all  the  earlier  promises  of  Panhellenic  union 
had  come  to  naught.  It  meant,  since  the  Peloponnesian  Con- 
federacy still  continued  to  exist,  that  henceforth  Hellas  was  to  be 
a  house  divided  against  itself. 

92 


§  146]      DELIAN  LEAGUE  BECOMES  AN  EMPIRE  93 

146.  The  Athenians  convert  the  Delian  League  into  an 
Empire.  The  Confederacy  of  Delos  laid  the  basis  of  the  imperial 
power  of  Athens.  The  Athenians  misused  their  authority  as 
leaders  of  the  league,  and  gradually,  during  the  interval  between 
the  formation  of  the  union  and  the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  reduced  their  allies  to  the  condition  of  tributaries  and  subjects. 

Athens  transformed  the  league  into  an  empire  in  the  following 
manner.  The  contributions  assessed  by  Aristides  upon  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  confederation  consisted  of  ships  for  the 
larger  states  and  of  money  payments  for  the  smaller  ones.  From 
the  first,  Athens  attended  to  this  assessment  matter,  and  saw  to 
it  that  each  member  of  the  league  made  its  proper  contribution. 

After  a  while,  some  of  the  cities  preferring  to  make  a  money 
payment  in  lieu  of  ships,  Athens  accepted  the  commutation,  and 
then,  building  the  ships  herself,  added  them  to  her  own  navy. 
Thus  the  confederates  disarmed  themselves  and  armed  their  master. 

Very  soon  the  restraints  which  Athens  imposed  upon  her  allies 
became  irksome,  and  they  began  to  refuse,  one  after  another,  to 
pay  the  assessment  in  any  form.  Naxos,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  was 
the  first  island  to  secede  from  the  league  (466  B.C.).  But  Athens 
had  no  idea  of  admitting  any  such  doctrine  of  state  rights,  and 
with  her  powerful  navy  forced  the  Naxians  to  remain  within  the 
union  and  to  pay  an  increased  tribute. 

What  happened  in  the  case  of  Xaxos  happened  in  the  case  of 
other  members  of  the  confederation.  By  the  year  449  b.c.  only 
three  of  the  island  members  of  the  league — Lesbos,  Chios,  and 
Samos — still  retained  their  independence.  They  alone  of  all  the 
former  allies  did  not  pay  tribute.  Even  before  the  date  last  named 
the  Athenians  had  transferred  the  common  treasury  from  Delos 
to  Athens,  and,  diverting  the  tribute  from  its  original  purpose, 
were  beginning  to  spend  it  not  in  the  prosecution  of  war  against 
the  barbarians  but  in  the  carrying  on  of  home  enterprises,  as 
though  the  treasure  were  their  own  revenue.  About  this  time  also 
the  congress  probably  ceased  to  exist. 

Thus  what  had  been  simply  a  voluntary  confederation  of 
sovereign  and  independent  cities  was  converted  into  what  was 


94 


THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE 


[§  147 


practically  an  absolute  monarchy,  with  the  Attic  democracy  as 
the  imperial  master.  Thus  did  Athens  become  a  "tyrant  city." 
147.  Cimon  and  Pericles.  Two  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
Athenian  leaders  at  this  time  were  Cimon  and  Pericles.  Cimon, 
a  successful  admiral,  was  the  leader  of  a  party,  aristocratic  in  its 
sympathies,  whose  policy  was  the  maintenance  in  Greece  of  a 

dual  headship,  Sparta  being  al- 
lowed leadership  on  land  an^ 
Athens  leadership  on  the  sea. 

Cimon  was  opposed  by  Pericles, 
who  believed  that  such  a  double 
leadership  was  impracticable.  The 
aim  of  his  policy  was  to  make 
Athens  supreme  not  only  on  the 
sea  but  also  on  the  land.  The 
popularity  of  Cimon  at  last  de- 
clined and  he  was  ostracized.  The 
fall  of  Cimon  gave  Pericles  a  free 
hand  in  the  carrying  out  of  his 
ambitious  policy. 

148.  Construction  of  the  Long 
Walls.  As  a  part  of  his  mari- 
time policy,  Pericles  persuaded  the 
Athenians  to  push  to  completion 
what  were  known  as  the  Long 
Walls,  which  united  Athens  to  the 
port  of  Piraeus  (see  Fig.  38).  By  means  of  these  great  ram- 
parts Athens  and  her  principal  port,  with  the  intervening  land, 
were  converted  into  a  vast  fortified  district,  capable  in  time  of  war 
of  holding  the  entire  population  of  Attica.  With  her  communication 
with  the  sea  thus  secured,  and  with  a  powerful  navy  at  her  com- 
mand, Athens  could  bid  defiance  to  her  foes  on  sea  and  land. 
149.  The  Age  of  Pericles  (445-431  B.C.).  The  period  during 
which  the  influence  of  Pericles  was  supreme  in  Athens  is  known 
as  the  Age  of  Pericles.  It  was  the  golden  age  of  Athens.  The 
people  were  at  this  period  the  source  and  fountain  of  all  power. 


Fig.  39.    I'KKiCLES 


§  150]  THE  DICASTERIES  95 

Every  matter  which  concerned  Athens  and  her  empire  was  dis- 
cussed and  decided  by  the  popular  assembly.  Never  before  in 
the  history  of  the  world  had  any  people  enjoyed  such  unrestricted 
political  liberty  as  did  the  citizens  of  Athens  at  this  time,  and 
never  before  were  any  people,  through  so  intimate  a  knowledge 
of  public  affairs,  so  well  fitted  to  take  part  in  the  administration  of 
government.  As  a  rule,  every  citizen  was  qualified  to  hold  public 
office.  At  all  events  the  Athenians  acted  upon  this  assumption,  as  is 
shown  by  their  extremely  democratic  practice  of  filling  all  the  pub- 
lic offices,  save  a  few  in  the  army  and  navy,  by  the  use  of  the  lot. 

150.  The  Dicasteries.  A  characteristic  feature  of  the  Athens 
of  Pericles  was  the  great  popular  law  courts  or  tribunals.  Each 
year  there  were  chosen  by  lot  from  those  citizens  who  wished  to 
serve  on  juries  six  thousand  persons.  One  thousand  were  held  in 
reserve ;  the  remaining  five  thousand  were  divided  into  ten  sections 
of  five  hundred  each.  These  divisions  were  called  dicasteries,  and 
the  members  dicasts,  or  jurymen.  The  usual  number  sitting  on  any 
given  case  was  between  two  hundred  and  four  hundred.  Some- 
times, however,  when  an  important  case  was  to  be  heard,  the  jury 
would  number  two  thousand  or  even  more. 

There  was  an  immense  amount  of  law  business  brought  before 
these  courts :  for  they  not  only  tried  all  cases  arising  between  the 
citizens  of  Athens,  but  attended  also  to  a  large  part  of  the  law 
business  of  the  numerous  cities  of  Athens's  great  empire.  The 
decision  of  the  jurors  was  final.  The  judgment  of  a  dicastery  was 
never  reversed  or  annulled. 

151.  Pericles  adorns  Athens  with  Public  Buildings.  Athens 
having  achieved  such  a  position  as  she  now  held,  it  was  the  idea 
of  Pericles  that  the  Athenians  should  so  adorn  their  city  that  it 
should  be  a  fitting  symbol  of  the  power  and  glory  of  their  empire. 
Nor  was  it  difficult  for  him  to  persuade  his  art-loving  countrymen 
to  embellish  their  city  with  those  masterpieces  of  architecture  that 
in  their  ruins  still  excite  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

The  most  noteworthy  of  the  Periclean  structures  were  grouped 
upon  the  Acropolis.  Here,  as  the  gateway  to  the  sacred  inclosure 
of  the  citadel,  were  erected  the  magnificent  Propylaea,  which  have 


96  THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE  [§  152 

served  as  a  model  for  similar  structures  since  the  time  of  Pericles. 
Here  also  was  raised  the  beautiful  Parthenon,  sacred  to  the  vir- 
gin goddess  Athena.  The  celebrated  sculptures  of  the  frieze  were 
designed  by  Phidias.  Near  the  temple  stood  the  colossal  bronze 
statue  of  Athena, — made,  it  is  said,  from  the  spoils  of  Marathon, 
—  whose  glittering  spear  point  was  a  beacon  to  the  mariner 
sailing  in  from  Sunium. 

The  Athenians  obtained  a  considerable  portion  of  the  money 
needed  for  the  prosecution  of  their  great  architectural  and  art 
undertakings  from  the  treasury  of  the  Delian  Confederacy. 
The  allies  naturally  declaimed  bitterly  against  this  proceeding, 
complaining  that  Athens  with  their  money  was  "adorning  herself 
as  a  vain  woman  decks  her  body  with  gay  ornaments."  But 
Pericles'  answer  to  these  charges  was  that  the  money  was  contrib- 
uted to  the  end  that  the  cities  of  the  league  should  be  protected 
against  the  Persians,  and  that  so  long  as  the  Athenians  kept  the 
enemy  at  a  distance  they  had  a  right  to  use  the  money  as 
they  pleased. 

152.  Strength  and  Weakness  of  the  Athenian  Empire.  Under 
Pericles  Athens  had  become  the  most  powerful  naval  state  in  the 
world.  In  one  of  his  last  speeches  Pericles  says  to  his  fellow- 
citizens :  "There  is  not  now  a  king,  there  is  not  any  nation  in 
the  universal  world,  able  to  withstand  that  navy  which  at  this 
juncture  you  can  launch  out  to  sea."  And  this  was  no  empty 
boast.  The  .^gean  had  become  an  Athenian  lake.  Its  islands  and 
coast  lands  formed  practically  an  Athenian  empire.  The  revenue 
ships  of  Athens  collected  tribute  from  two  hundred  Greek  cities. 
It  seemed  almost  as  though  the  union  of  the  cities  of  Hellas  was 
to  be  effected  on  an  imperial  basis  through  the  energy  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  Athenians. 

But  the  most  significant  feature  of  this  new  imperial  power  was 
the  remarkable  combination  of  material  and  intellectual  resources 
which  it  exhibited.  Never  before  had  there  been  such  a  union 
of  the  material  and  the  intellectual  elements  of  civilization  at 
the  seat  of  empire.  Literature  and  art  had  been  carried  to  the 
utmost  perfection  possible  to  human  genius. 


§  152]    CHARACTER  OF  THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE        97 

But  there  were  elements  of  weakness  in  the  splendid  imperial 
structure.  The  Athenian  Empire  was  destined  to  be  short-lived 
because  the  principles  upon  which  it  rested  were  in  opposition 
to  the  deepest  instinct  of  the  Greek  race, —  to  that  sentiment  of 
local  patriotism  which  invested  each  individual  city  with  political 
sovereignty  (sect.  97).  The  so-called  confederates  were  the  sub- 
jects of  Athens.  To  her  they  paid  tribute.  To  her  courts  they 
were  dragged  for  trial. ^  Naturally  the  subject  cities  of  her  em- 
pire regarded  Athens  as  the  destroyer  of  Hellenic  liberties,  and 
watched  impatiently  for  the  first  favorable  moment  to  revolt  and 
throw  off  the  yoke  that  she  had  imposed  upon  them.  Hence  the 
Athenian  Empire  rested  upon  a  foundation  of  sand. 

Had  Athens,  instead  of  enslaving  her  confederates  of  the  Delian 
League,  only  been  able  to  find  some  way  of  retaining  them  as 
allies  in  an  equal  union, —  a  great  and  perhaps  impossible  task 
under  the  then  existing  conditions  of  the  Hellenic  world, — as 
head  of  the  federated  Greek  race  she  might  have  secured  for 
Hellas  the  sovereignty  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  history  of 
Rome  might  have  ended  with  the  first  century  of  the  republic. 

Illustrations  of  these  weaknesses,  as  well  as  of  the  strength  of 
the  Athenian  Empire,  will  be  afforded  by  the  great  struggle  be- 
tween Athens  and  Sparta  known  as  the  Peloponnesian  War,  the 
causes  and  chief  incidents  of  which  we  shall  next  rehearse. 

References.  Pl.UTARru,  Aristidcs  and  Pericles.  CuRTirs,  E.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  353- 
641.  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  iv,  pp.  330-533.  Aijijott,  E.,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  243-475  ;  vol.  iii,  chaps,  i,  ii.  Bpry,  J.  B.,  I/Istoiy  of  Greece,  chaps,  viii,  ix. 
Cox,  G.  W.,  The  Athenian  Etupire  and  Lives  of  Athe7iia7i  Statesmen.  Lloyd, 
W.  W.,  The  Age  of  Pericles,  2  vols.  Hopkinson,  I-.  W.,  Greek  Leaders,  pp.  37- 
77,  "Pericles."  Brxi.ER,  II.  C,  The  Story  of  Athens,  chap.  vii.  Arbott,  E., 
Pericles  and  the  Golden  Age  of  Athens,  chaps,  x-xviii.  Gr.\NT,  A.  J.,  Greece  in 
the  Age  of  Pericles.    TuCKER,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens. 

1  The  subject  cities  were  allowed  to  maintain  only  their  lower  courts  of  justice ;  all 
cases  of  importance,  as  we  have  seen  (sect.  150),  were  carried  to  Athens,  and  there 
decided  in  the  Attic  tribunals. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR;  THE  SPARTAN  AND  THE 
THEBAN  SUPREMACY 

I.  THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR  (431-404   B.C.) 

153.  The  Beginning  of  the  War.  Before  the  end  of  the  life 
of  Pericles  the  growing  jealousy  between  Ionian  Athens  and  Dorian 
Sparta  and  her  allies  broke  out  in  the  long  and  calamitous  struggle 
known  as  the  Peloponnesian  War.  One  immediate  cause  of  the 
war  was  the  blockade  by  the  Athenians  of  Potidaea,  in  Chalcidice. 
This  was  a  Corinthian  colony,  but  it  was  a  member  of  the 
Delian  League,  and  was  now  being  chastised  by  Athens  for  at- 
tempted secession.  Corinth  had  endeavored  to  lend  aid  to  her 
daughter,  but  had  been  worsted  in  an  engagement  with  the 
Athenians. 

With  affairs  in  this  shape,  Corinth,  supported  by  other  states 
that  like  herself  had  causes  of  complaint  against  Athens,  appealed 
to  Sparta,  as  the  head  of  the  Dorian  alliance,  for  aid  and  justice. 
The  Spartans,  after  listening  to  the  deputies  of  both  sides,  decided 
that  the  Athenians  had  been  guilty  of  injustice,  and  declared  for 
war.  The  resolution  of  the  Spartans  was  indorsed  by  the  Pelopon- 
nesian Confederation,  and  apparently  approved  by  the  Delphian 
oracle,  which,  in  response  to  an  inquiry  of  the  Spartans  as  to 
what  would  be  the  issue  of  the  proposed  undertaking,  assured 
them  that  "they  would  gain  the  victory,  if  they  fought  with  all 
their  might." 

154.  The  Peloponnesians  ravage  Attica  (431  B.C.).  A  Pelo- 
ponnesian army  was  soon  collected  at  the  Isthmus,  ready  for  a 
campaign  against  Athens.  With  invasion  imminent,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  hamlets  and  scattered  farmhouses  of  Attica  abandoned 
their  homes  and  sought  shelter  behind  the  defenses  of  the  capital. 

98 


§  155]  FUNERAL  ORATION  OF  PERICLES  99 

Into  the  plain  thus  deserted  the  Peloponnesians  marched,  and 
ravaged  the  country  far  and  near.  From  the  walls  of  the  city  the 
Athenians  could  see  the  flames  of  their  burning  houses,  which  re- 
called to  the  old  men  the  sight  they  had  witnessed  from  the  island 
of  Salamis  just  forty-nine  years  before,  at  the  time  of  the  Per- 
sian invasion.  The  failure  of  provisions  finally  compelled  the 
Peloponnesians  to  withdraw  from  the  country,  and  the  contingents 
of  the  different  cities  scattered  to  their  homes. 

155.  Funeral  Oration  of  Pericles.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
Athenians  to  bury  with  public  and  imposing  ceremonies  the  bodies 
of  those  slain  in  battle.  After  the  burial  of  the  remains,  some  per- 
son chosen  by  his  fellow-citizens  on  account  of  his  special  fitness 
for  the  service  delivered  an  oration  over  the  dead,  extolling  their 
deeds  and  exhorting  the  living  to  an  imitation  of  their  virtues. 

It  was  during  the  winter  following  the  campaign  we  have  men- 
tioned that  the  Athenians  celebrated  the  funeral  ceremonies  of 
those  who  had  fallen  thus  far  in  the  war.  Pericles  was  chosen  to 
give  the  oration  on  this  occasion.  This  funeral  speech,  as  reported 
by  Thucydides,^  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  memorials  preserved 
to  us  from  antiquity.  The  speaker  took  advantage  of  the  occa- 
sion to  describe  the  institutions  to  which  Athens  owed  her  great- 
ness, and  to  picture  the  glories  of  the  imperial  city  for  which  the 
heroes  they  lamented  had  died.  He  praised  the  Athenian  govern- 
ment, in  which  all  the  citizens,  rich  and  poor  alike,  had  part.  He 
praised,  too,  Athens's  military  system,  in  which  the  citizen  was 
not  sacrificed  to  the  soldier,  as  at  Sparta ;  and  yet  Athens  was 
alone  a  match  for  Sparta  and  all  her  allies.  He  extolled  the 
intellectual,  moral,  and  social  virtues  of  the  Athenians,  which 
were  fostered  by  their  free  institutions,  and  declared  their  city 
to  be  "the  school  of  Hellas"  and  the  model  for  all  other  cities. 


1  Respecting  the  speeches  which  Thucydides  introduces  so  frequently  in  his 
narrative,  he  himself  says:  "As  to  the  speeches  which  were  made  either  before  or 
during  the  war,  it  was  hard  for  me,  and  for  others  who  reported  them  to  me,  to 
recollect  the  exact  words.  I  have  therefore  put  into  the  mouth  of  each  speaker  the 
sentiments  proper  to  the  occasion,  expressed  as  I  thought  he  would  be  likely  to  express 
them,  while  at  the  same  time  I  endeavored,  as  nearly  as  I  could,  to  give  the  general 
purport  of  what  was  actually  said"  (Jowett's  Thucydides^  i.  15). 


lOO 


THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR 


[§156 


She  would  never  need  a  Homer  to  perpetuate  her  memory, 
because  she  herself  had  set  up  everywhere  eternal  monuments 
of  her  greatness.  "Such  is  the  city,"  the  speaker  exclaimed  im- 
pressively, "  for  whose  sake 
these  men  nobly  fought  and 
died ;  they  could  not  bear 
the  thought  that  she  might 
be  taken  from  them ;  and 
every  one  of  us  who  sur- 
vive should  gladly  toil  on 
her  behalf." 

Then  followed  words  of 
tribute  to  the  valor  and 
self-devotion  of  the  dead, 
whose  sepulchers  and  in- 
scriptions were  not  the 
graves  and  the  memorial 
stones  of  the  cemetery, — 
"for  ihe  whole  earth  is  the 
?epulcher  of  famous  men," 
and  the  memorials  of  them 
are  "graven  not  on  stone 
but  in  the  hearts  of  man- 
kind." Finally,  with  words 
of  comfort  for  the  relatives 
of  the  dead,  the  orator  dis- 
missed the  assembly  to 
their  homes.' 
156.  The  Plague  at  Athens  (430-429  B.C.).  Upon  the  return 
of  the  next  campaigning  season  the  Peloponnesians  broke  once  more 
into  Attica  and  ravaged  the  land  anew.    The  walls  of  Athens  were 

1  Thucydldcs,  ii.  35-46,  for  the  whole  oration. 

2  ,\  bas-relief  recently  excavated  on  the  .\cropolis  of  Athens.  As  to  the  possible 
connection  of  this  relief  with  the  funeral  oration  of  Pericles,  Dr.  Waldstein  says : 
"Though  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  inscription  which  it  surmounted  referred 
immediately  to  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  campaign  of  431  B.C.,  I  still  feel  that  the 
most  perfect  counterpart  in  literature  is  the  famous  funeral  oration  of  Pericles  as 
recorded  by  Thucydidcs." 


Fig.  41.   The  So-Called  Moukmn(; 
Athena. 2  (From  a  photograph) 


§157] 


ALCIBIADES 


lOI 


Pericles,  who  had  been 


unassailable  by  the  hostile  army ;  but  unfortunately  they  were  no 
defense  against  a  more  terrible  foe.  A  pestilence  broke  out  in 
the  crowded  city  and  added  its  horrors  to  the  already  unbearable 
calamities  of  war.  The  mortality  was  frightful.  One  fourth  of  the 
population  of  the  city  v/as  swept  away.  In  the  third  year  of 
the  war  the  plague  reappeared  at  Athens, 
the  very  soul  and  life  of  Athens  dur- 
ing all  these  dark  days,  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  the  disease. 

After  the  death  of  Pericles  the 
leadership  of  affairs  at  Athens '  fell 
to  a  great  degree  into  the  hands  of 
demagogues.  The  mob  element  got 
control  of  the  Ecclesia,  so  that 
hereafter  we  shall  find  many  of  its 
measures  marked  neither  by  virtue 
nor  by  wisdom. 

157.  Alcibiades.  About  midway 
in  the  long  war — it  lasted,  with 
intervals  of  nominal  peace,  twenty- 
seven  years — there  came  into  promi- 
nence at  Athens  a  new  leader  of  the  demos,  who  played  a 
most  conspicuous  part,  not  only  in  Athenian  but  also  in  Hellenic 
affairs,  from  this  time  on  to  near  the  close  of  the  war.  This  was 
Alcibiades,  a  young  man  of  noble  lineage  and  of  aristocratic  as- 
sociations. He  was  versatile,  brilliant,  and  resourceful,  but  un- 
scrupulous, reckless,  and  profligate.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Socrates, 
but  he  failed  to  follow  the  counsels  of  his  teacher.  His  astonishing 
escapades  kept  all  Athens  talking,  yet  seemed  only  to  attach  the 
people  more  closely  to  him,  for  he  possessed  all  those  personal 
traits  which  make  men  popular  idols.  His  influence  over  the 
democracy  was  unlimited.  He  was  able  to  carry  through  the 
Ecclesia  almost  any  measure  that  it  pleased  him  to  advocate. 

The  more  prudent  of  the  Athenians  were  filled  with  apprehen- 
sion for  the  future  of  the  state  under  such  guidance.  The  noted 
misanthrope  Timon  gave  expression  to  this  feeling  when,  after 


Fig.  42.    Alcibiades 


102  THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR  [§  158 

Alcibiades  had  secured  the  assent  of  the  popular  assembly  to  one 
of  his  impolitic  measures,  he  said  to  him :  "  Go  on,  my  brave  boy, 
and  prosper ;  for  your  prosperity  will  bring  on  the  ruin  of  all  this 
crowd."    And  it  did,  as  we  shall  see. 

158.  The  Sicilian  Expedition  (415-413  B.C.).  The  most  pros- 
perous enterprise  of  Alcibiades,  in  the  Timonian  sense,  was  the 
inciting  of  the  Athenians  to  undertake  an  expedition  against  the 
Dorian  city  of  Syracuse,  in  Sicily.  The  resolution  to  engage  in 
the  tremendous  enterprise  seems  to  have  been  taken  lightly  by  the 
Athenians,  which  was  quite  in  keeping  with  their  usual  way  of 
doing  things.  The  vastness  of  the  armament  needed  seemed  to 
captivate  their  imagination.  The  expedition  further  presented 
itself  to  the  ardent  imagination  of  the  youth  as  a  sort  of  pleasure 
and  sight-seeing  excursion  among  the  wonders  of  the  land  of  the 
"Far  West."  And  so  it  came  about  that,  in  a  special  meeting  of 
the  Ecclesia,  the  assembly,  almost  without  a  dissenting  voice, 
voted  for  the  fateful  adventure. 

An  immense  fleet  was  carefully  equipped  and  manned.'  Anx- 
iously did  those  remaining  behind  watch  the  departing  ships  until 
they  were  lost  to  sight.  Could  the  anxious  watchers  have  foreseen 
the  fate  of  the  splendid  armament,  their  anxiety  would  have  passed 
into  despair.  "Athens  itself  was  sailing  out  of  the  Piraeus,  never 
to  return." 

Scarcelyhadtheexpedition  arrived  at  Sicily  before  Alcibiades,  who 
was  one  of  thegeneralsin  command  of  the  armament, was  summoned 
back  to  Athens  to  answer  a  charge  of  impiety.  Fearing  to  trust  him- 
self in  the  hands  of  his  enemies  at  Athens,  he  fled  to  Sparta,  and 
there,  by  traitorous  counsel,  did  all  in  his  power  to  ruin  the  very 
expedition  he  had  planned.  The  surest  way,  he  told  the  Spartans, 
in  which  to  wreck  the  plans  of  the  Athenians  was  to  send  to  Sicily  at 
once  a  force  of  heavy-armed  men,  and  above  all  a  good  Spartan  gen- 
eral, who  alone  would  be  worth  a  whole  army.  The  Spartans  acted 
upon  this  advice  and  sent  to  Sicily  their  ablest  general,  Gylippus. 
with  instructions  to  push  the  war  there  with  the  utmost  vigor. 

'  It  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  costly  triremes,  bearing  thirty-six 
thousand  soldiers  and  sailors. 


§  159]  THE  FALL  OF  ATHENS  103 

The  affairs  of  the  Athenians  in  Sicily  at  just  this  time  were 
prospering  greatly.  But  the  arrival  of  Gylippus  changed  everything 
at  once.  After  some  severe  fighting,  in  which  the  Athenians  lost 
heavily,  they  resolved  to  withdraw  their  forces  from  the  island 
while  retreat  by  the  sea  was  still  open  to  them. 

Just  as  the  ships  were  about  to  weigh  anchor,  there  occurred 
an  eclipse  of  the  moon.  Nicias,  the  general  in  chief  command, 
unfortunately  was  a  superstitious  man,  having  full  faith  in  omens 
and  divination.  He  sought  the  advice  of  his  soothsayers.  They 
pronounced  the  portent  an  unfavorable  one,  and  advised  that  the 
retreat  be  delayed  thirty-seven  days.  Never  did  a  reliance  upon 
omens  more  completely  undo  a  people.    The  delay  was  fatal. 

Further  disaster  and  a  failure  of  provisions  finally  convinced  the 
Athenians  that  they  must  without  longer  delay  fight  their  way  out 
by  sea  or  by  land.  But  already  it  was  too  late.  The  attempt  to 
force  their  way  through  the  enemy's  fleet  in  the  harbor  failed 
dismally.  There  was  now  no  course  open  save  retreat  by  land. 
]\Iaking  such  preparations  as  they  could  for  their  march,  they 
set  out.  Pursued  and  harassed  by  the  Syracusans,  the  fleeing 
multitude  was  practically  annihilated.  The  prisoners,  about  seven 
thousand  in  number,  were  crowded  in  deep,  open  stone  quarries 
around  Syracuse,  where  hundreds  soon  died  of  exposure  and  star- 
vation. Most  of  the  wretched  survivors  were  finally  sold  as  slaves. 
The  tragedy  of  the  Sicilian  expedition  was  ended. 

159.  The  Fall  of  Athens  (404  B.C.).  With  most  admirable 
courage  the  Athenians,  after  the  great  disaster  in  Sicily,  set  to 
work  to  retrieve  their  seemingly  irretrievable  fortune.  Forgetting 
and  forgiving  the  past,  they  recalled  Alcibiades  and  gave  him  com- 
mand of  the  army,  thereby  well  illustrating  what  the  poet  Aris- 
tophanes said  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  Athenians  toward 
the  spoiled  favorite, — "They  love,  they  hate,  but  cannot  live 
without  him." 

Alcibiades  gained  some  splendid  victories  for  Athens.  But  he 
could  not  undo  the  evil  he  had  done.  He  had  ruined  Athens  be- 
yond redemption  by  any  human  power.  The  struggle  grew  more 
and  more  hopeless.    Finally,  at  .^gospotami,  on  the  Hellespont, 


104  THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR  [§  160 

the  Athenian  fleet  was  surprised  and  captured  by  the  Spartan 
general  Lysander  (405  B.C.)-  The  native  Athenians,  to  the  number 
of  four  thousand  it  is  said,  were  put  to  death,  the  usual  rites  of 
burial  being  denied  their  bodies.  Among  the  few  Athenian  vessels 
that  escaped  capture  was  the  state  ship  Paralus,  which  hastened 
to  Athens  with  the  tidings  of  the  terrible  misfortune.  It  arrived  in 
the  nighttime,  and  from  the  Piraeus  the  awful  news,  published  by 
a  despairing  wail,  spread  up  the  Long  Walls  into  the  upper  city. 
"That  night,"  says  Xenophon,  "no  one  slept." 

Besieged  by  sea  and  land,  Athens  was  soon  forced  to  surrender. 
Some  of  the  allies  insisted  upon  a  total  destruction  of  the  city. 
The  Spartans,  however,  with  apparent  magnanimity,  declared 
that  they  would  never  consent  thus  "to  put  out  one  of  the  eyes 
of  Greece."  The  real  motive  of  the  Spartans  in  sparing  the  city 
was  their  fear  lest,  with  Athens  blotted  out,  Thebes  or  Corinth 
should  become  too  powerful,  and  the  leadership  of  Sparta  be 
thereby  endangered.  The  final  resolve  was  that  the  lives  of  the 
Athenians  should  be  spared,  but  that  they  should  be  required  to 
demolish  their  Long  Walls  and  those  of  the  Piraeus,  to  give  up  all 
their  ships  save  twelve,  and  to  bind  themselves  to  do  Sparta's 
bidding  by  sea  and  land.  The  Athenians  were  forced  to  surrender 
on  these  hard  conditions. 

The  long  war  was  now  over.  The  dominion  of  the  imperial  city 
of  Athens  was  at  an  end,  and  the  great  days  of  Greece  were  past. 

160,  The  Results  of  the  War.  Greece  never  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  the  war  which  had  destroyed  so  large  a  part  of  her 
population.  Athens  was  merely  the  wreck  of  her  former  self. 
The  harbor  of  the  Piraeus,  once  crowded  with  ships,  was  now 
empty.  The  population  of  the  capital  had  been  terribly  thinned. 
Things  were  just  the  reverse  now  of  what  they  were  at  the  time 
of  the  Persian  invasion,  when,  with  Athens  in  ruins,  Themistocles 
at  Salamis,  taunted  with  being  a  man  without  a  city;  could  truth- 
fully declare  that  Athens  was  there  on  the  sea  in  her  ships.  Now 
the  real  Athens  was  gone;  only  the  empty  shell  remained. 

Not  Athens  alone,  but  all  Hellas,  bore  the  marks  of  the  cruel 
war.    Sites  once  covered  with  pleasant  villages  or  flourishing  towns 


§  161]  THE  SPARTAN  SUPREMACY  105 

were  now  plough  and  pasture  land.  The  Greek  world  had  sunk 
many  degrees  in  morality,  while  the  vigor  and  productiveness  of 
the  intellectual  and  artistic  life  of  Hellas  were  impaired  beyond 
recovery.  The  achievements  of  the  Greek  intellect  in  the  century 
following  the  war  were,  it  is  true,  wonderful ;  but  these  triumphs 
merely  show,  we  may  believe,  what  the  Hellenic  mind  would  have 
done  for  art  and  general  culture  had  it  been  permitted,  unchecked, 
and  under  the  favoring  and  inspiring  conditions  of  liberty  and 
self-government,  to  disclose  all  that  was  latent  in  it. 

II.  THE  SPARTAN  AND  THE  THEBAN  SUPREMACY 

161.  Character  of  the  Spartan  Supremacy,  For  just  one 
generation  following  the  Peloponnesian  War  (404-371  B.C.)  Sparta 
held  the  leadership  of  the  Greek  states.  Throughout  that  struggle 
she  had  maintained  that  her  only  purpose  in  warring  against 
Athens  was  to  regain  for  the  Greek  cities  the  liberty  of  which  she 
had  deprived  them.  But  no  sooner  was  the  power  of  Athens  broken 
than  Sparta  herself  began  to  play  the  tyrant.  The  outcome  of  her 
oppressive  tyranny  we  shall  notice  directly. 

162.  The  Expedition  of  the  Ten  Thousand  Greeks  (401- 
400  B.C.).  One  of  the  most  memorable  episodes  of  the  period  of 
Spartan  supremacy  was  the  famous  expedition  of  the  Ten  Thou- 
sand Greeks.  Cyrus,  brother  of  the  Persian  king  Artaxerxes  II 
and  satrap  in  Asia  Minor,  feeling  that  he  had  been  unjustly  ex- 
cluded from  the  throne  by  his  brother,  secretly  planned  to  de- 
throne him.  From  various  quarters  he  gathered  an  army  of  over 
a  hundred  thousand  barbarians  and  about  thirteen  thousand  Greek 
mercenaries.  Setting  out  from  Sardis,  he  had  marched  through 
Asia  Minor  and  across  the  Mesopotamian  plains,  thus  penetrating 
to  the  very  heart  of  the  Persian  Empire,  before,  at  Cunaxa  in 
Babylonia,  his  farther  advance  was  disputed  by  Artaxerxes  with 
an  immense  army.  In  the  battle  which  here  followed,  the  splendid 
conduct  of  the  Greeks  won  the  day  for  their  leader.  Cyrus, 
however,  was  slain ;  and  the  Greek  generals,  lured  to  a  con- 
ference, were  treacherously  seized  and  put  to  death. 


io6  THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR  [§  163 

The  Greeks,  in  a  hurried  night  meeting,  chose  new  generals  to 
lead  them  back  to  their  homes.  One  of  these  was  Xenophon,  the 
popular  historian  of  the  expedition.  Now  commenced  one  of  the 
most  memorable  retreats  in  all  history.  After  a  most  harassing 
march  over  the  hot  plains  of  the  Tigris  and  the  icy  passes  of 
Armenia,  the  survivors  reached  the  Black  Sea,  the  abode  of  sister 
Greek  colonies. 

The  march  of  the  Ten  Thousand  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  military  exploits  of  antiquity.  Its  historical 
significance  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  paved  the  way  for  the 
later  expedition  of  Alexander  the  Great.  This  it  did  by  revealing 
to  the  Greeks  the  decayed  state  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  showing 
how  feeble  was  the  resistance  which  it  could  offer  to  the  march 
of  an  army  of  disciplined  soldiers. 

163.  The  Condemnation  and  Death  of  Socrates  (399  B.C.). 
While  Xenophon  was  yet  away  on  his  expedition  there  happened 
in  his  native  city  one  of  the  saddest  tragedies  in  history.  This 
was  the  trial  and  condemnation  to  death  by  the  Athenians  of 
their  fellow-citizen  Socrates,  the  greatest  moral  teacher  of  pagan 
antiquity.  The  double  charge  upon  which  he  was  condemned  was 
worded  as  follows:  "Socrates  is  guilty  of  crime, —  first,  for  not 
worshiping  the  gods  whom  the  city  worships,  but  in  introducing 
new  divinities  of  his  own ;  next,  for  corrupting  the  youth."  The 
trial  was  before  a  dicastery  or  citizen  court  (sect.  150)  composed 
of  over  five  hundred  jurors,  and  the  sentence  of  death  was  pro- 
nounced by  a  majority  vote. 

After  his  condemnation  Socrates  was  led  to  prison,  and  there 
remained  for  about  thirty  days  before  the  execution  of  the 
sentence.  This  period  Socrates  spent  in  serene  converse  with  his 
friends  upon  those  lofty  themes  that  had  occupied  his  thoughts 
during  all  his  life.  When  at  last  the  hour  for  his  departure  had 
arrived,  he  bade  his  friends  farewell,  and  then  calmly  drank  the 
cup  of  poison. 

164.  The  Battle  of  Leuctra  (371  B.C.).  Throughout  the  period 
of  her  supremacy  Sparta  continued  to  deal  most  tyrannically 
with  the  other  Greek  cities.    One  of  her  worst  crimes  was  the 


§  164]  THE  BATTLE  OF  LEUCTRA  107 

treacherous  seizure  of  the  citadel  of  Thebes  and  the  placing  of  a 
Spartan  garrison  in  it.  All  Greece  stood  aghast  at  this  perfidious 
and  high-handed  act,  and  looked  to  see  some  awful  misfortune 
befall  Sparta  as  a  retribution. 

And  misfortune  came  speedily  enough,  and  not  single-handed. 
The  Spartan  garrison  was  driven  out  of  the  citadel  by  an  uprising 
of  the  Thebans.  A  Spartan  army  was  soon  in  Boeotia.  The 
Thebans  met  the  invaders  at  Leuctra.  The  Spartans  had  no  other 
thought  than  that  they  should  gain  an  easy  victory.  But  the  mili- 
tary genius  of  the  Theban  commander,  Epaminondas,  had  pre- 
pared for  Hellas  a  startling  surprise.  Hitherto  the  Greeks  had 
fought  drawn  up  in  extended  and  comparatively  thin  opposing 
lines,  not  more  than  twelve  ranks  deep.  The  Spartans  at  Leuctra 
formed  their  line  in  the  usual  way.  Epaminondas,  on  the  other 
hand,  massed  his  best  troops  in  a  solid  column,  that  is  in  a 
phalanx,  fifty  deep,  on  the  left  of  his  battle  line,  the  rest  being 
drawn  up  in  the  ordinary  extended  line.  With  all  ready  for  the 
attack,  the  phalanx  was  set  in  motion  first.  It  ploughed  through 
the  thin  line  of  the  enemy  "as  the  beak  of  a  ship  ploughs  through 
a  wave," — and  the  day  was  won.  Of  the  seven  hundred  Spartans  in 
the  fight  four  hundred  were  killed.  It  was  the  first  time  that  a 
Spartan  army  with  its  king  had  been  fairly  beaten  in  a  great 
battle  by  an  enemy  inferior  in  numbers.  The  Spartan  forces  at 
Thermopylae  headed  by  their  king  had,  it  is  true,  been  annihilated, 
— but  annihilation  is  not  defeat. 

The  manner  in  which  the  news  of  the  overwhelming  calamity 
was  received  at  Sparta  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  Spartan 
discipline  and  self-control.  It  so  happened  that  when  the  mes- 
senger arrived  the  Spartans  were  celebrating  a  festival.  The 
Ephors  would  permit  no  interruption  of  the  entertainment.  They 
merely  sent  lists  of  the  fallen  to  their  families,  and  ordered  that 
the  women  should  make  no  lamentation  nor  show  any  signs  of 
grief.  "The  following  day,"  says  Xenophon,  "those  who  had 
lost  relatives  in  the  battle  appeared  on  the  streets  with  cheerful 
faces,  while  those  whose  relatives  had  escaped,  if  they  appeared  in 
public  at  all,  went  about  with  sad  and  dejected  looks."    When 


io8  THE  TELOPONNESIAN  WAR  [§  165 

we  contrast  this  scene  at  Sparta  with  that  at  Athens  upon  the 
night  of  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  disaster  of  ^gospotami 
(sect.  159),  we  are  impressed  with  the  wide  difference  in  spirit  or 
temperament  between  the  Athenian  and  the  Spartan. 

165.  The  Theban  Supremacy  (371-362  B.C.  ).  From  the  vic- 
tory of  Leuctra  dates  the  short  but  brilliant  period  of  Theban 
supremacy.  The  year  after  that  battle  Epaminondas  led  an  army 
into  the  Peloponnesus  to  aid  the  Arcadians  against  Sparta.  Laconia 
was  ravaged,  and  for  the  first  time  Spartan  women  saw  the  smoke 
of  the  camp  fires  of  an  enemy. 

But,  moved  by  jealousy  of  the  rapidly  growing  power  of  Thebes, 
Athens  now  formed  an  alliance  with  her  old  rival  Sparta  against 
her.  Three  times  more  did  Epaminondas  lead  an  army  into  the 
Peloponnesus.  Upon  his  last  expedition  he  fought  with  the 
Spartans  and  Athenians  the  great  battle  of  Mantinea,  in  Arcadia. 
On  this  memorable  field  Epaminondas  led  the  Thebans  once  more 
to  victory ;  but  he  himself  was  slain,  and  with  him  fell  the  hopes 
and  power  of  Thebes  (362  b.c). 

All  the  chief  cities  of  Greece  now  lay  in  a  state  of  exhaustion  or 
of  helpless  isolation.  Sparta  had  destroyed  the  empire  of  Athens ; 
Thebes  had  broken  the  dominion  of  Sparta,  but  had  exhausted 
herself  in  the  effort.  There  was  now  nO  city  energetic,  resourceful, 
unbroken  in  spirit  and  strength,  such  as  was  Athens  at  the  time 
of  the  Persian  Wars,  to  act  as  leader  and  champion  of  the  Greek 
states.  Yet  never  was  there  greater  need  of  such  leadership  in 
Hellas  than  at  just  this  moment ;  for  the  Macedonian  monarchy 
was  now  rising  in  the  north  and  threatening  the  independence  of 
all  Greece. 

References.  ri,urARCH,  AUibiadcs.  Tiukydidf-s,  ii,  35-46  (the  funeral 
oration  of  Pericles).  Cuirrius,  E.,  vols,  iii,  iv.  Gkote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.), 
vols,  v-viii.  Ahhott,  E.,  vol.  iii,  chaps,  iii-xii.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  xxi- 
xxviii ;  vol.  iii,  chaps,  i-xiii.  Bury,  J.  B.,  History  of  Greece,  chaps,  x-xiv.  Co.x, 
G.  W.,  Lives  of  Greek  Statesmen,  "Demosthenes"  and  "  Nikias."  Crea.sv, 
E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  fVor/c/,  chap,  ii,  "  Defeat  of  the  Athenians  at 
Syracuse,  n.C.  413."  Sankey,  C,  TAe  Spartan  and  llieban  Supretnacies. 
Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens,  chaps,  x-xiv.  II(;i'KINSon,  L.  W., 
Greek  I.cados  ("  Alcihiades,"  "  Socrates,"  and  "  Epaminondas  "). 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 

(336-323  B.C.) 

166.  The  Macedonians  and  their  Rulers.  Macedonia  was  a 
country  lying  north  of  the  Cambunian  Mountains  and  back  of 
Chalcidice  (see  map,  p.  52).  The  people  were  for  the  most  part 
mountaineers  still  in  the  tribal  state.^  They  were  Aryans  in  speech 
and  close  kin  to  the  Greeks,  but  since  they  did  not  speak  pure 
Greek  and  were  backward  in  culture,  they  were  looked  upon  as 
barbarians  by  their  more  refined  city  kinsmen  of  the  South.  The 
ruling  race  in  the  country,  however,  claimed  to  be  of  genuine 
Hellenic  stock,  and  this  claim  had  been  allowed  by  the  Greeks, 
who  had  permitted  them  to  appear  as  contestants  in  the  Olympian 
games, — a  privilege,  it  will  be  recalled,  accorded  only  to  those 
who  could  prove  pure  Hellenic  ancestry. 

167.  Philip  of  Macedon.  Macedonia  first  rose  to  importance 
under  Philip  H  (359-336  b.c),  generally  known  as  Philip  of 
Macedon.  He  was  a  man  of  preeminent  ability.  The  art  of  war 
he  had  learned  in  youth  as  a  hostage-pupil  of  Epaminondas  of 
Thebes.  The  "Macedonian  phalanx,"-  which  he  is  said  to  have 
originated,  and  which  holds  some  such  place  in  the  military  his- 
tory of  Macedonia  as  the  "legion"  holds  in  that  of  Rome,  was 
simply  a  modification  of  the  Theban  phalanx  that  won  the  day 
at  Leuctra  and  again  at  Mantinea. 

With  his  kingdom  settled  and  consolidated  at  home,  Philip's 
ambition  led  him  to  seek  the  leadership  of  the  Greek  states. 

1  There  were,  however,  a  few  towns  in  Macedonia,  of  which  yTCgae  and  I'ella,  each  of 
which  was  in  turn  the  seat  of  the  royal  court,  were  of  chief  note. 

'-  The  phahinx  was  formed  of  soldiers  drawn  up  sixteen  files  deep  and  armed  with 
pikes  so  long  that  those  of  the  first  five  ranks  projected  beyond  the  front  of  the 
column,  thus  opposing  a  perfect  thicket  of  spears  to  the  enemy.  On  level  ground  it 
was  irresistible. 

109 


no 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 


[§168 


168.  Battle  of  Chaeronea  (338  B.C.).  Philip  quickly  extended 
his  power  over  a  large  part  of  Thrace  and  the  Greek  cities  of 
Chalcidice.  He  was  on  the  way  to  make  himself  master  of  all 
Greece.    Demosthenes  at  Athens  was  one  of  the  few  who  seemed 

to  understand  the  real  designs  of 
Philip.  With  all  the  energy  of  his 
wonderful  eloquence  he  strove  to  stir 
up  the  Athenians  to  resist  Philip's  en- 
croachments. He  hurled  against  him 
his  famous  "Philippics,"  speeches  so 
filled  with  fierce  denunciation  that 
they  have  given  name  to  all  writings 
characterized  by  bitter  criticism  or 
violent  invective. 

At  length  the  Athenians  and  The- 
bans,  aroused  by  the  eloquence  of 
Demosthenes  and  by  some  fresh  en- 
croachments of  Philip,  united  their 
forces,  and  met  him  upon  the  memo- 
rable field  of  Chaeronea  in  Bceotia. 
The  battle  was  stubbornly  fought,  but 
finally  went  against  the  allies.  The 
power  and  authority  of  Philip  were 
now  extended  and  acknowledged 
throughout   Greece. 

169.  Philip's  Plan  to  invade 
Asia;  his  Death  (336  B.C.).  Soon 
after  the  battle  of  Chaeronea,  Philip 
convened  at  Corinth  a  council  of  the 
Greek  states.  His  main  object  in 
calling  the  congress  was  to  secure  aid  in  an  expedition  for  the 
conquest  of  the  Persian  Empire.  The  exploit  of  the  Ten  Thousand 
Greeks  had  shown  the  feasibility  of  such  an  undertaking  (sect. 
162).  The  plan  was  indorsed  by  the  congress.  Every  Greek  city 
was  to  furnish  a  contingent  for  the  army  of  invasion.  Philip  was 
chosen  leader  of  the  expedition. 


Fig.  43.    Dkmosthenes 
(Vatican  Museum) 

If  thy  power,  Demosthenes,  had 
been  as  great  as  thy  spirit  never 
had  Hellas  bowed  before  the 
Macedonian  sword. —  I'lutakch 


§170] 


THE  YOUTH  OF  ALEXANDER 


III 


All  Greece  was  now  astir  with  preparations  for  the  great  adven- 
ture. By  the  spring  of  the  year  336  B.C.  the  expedition  was 
ready  to  move.  In  the  midst  of  all,  Philip  was  assassinated,  and 
his  son  Alexander  succeeded  to  his  place  and  power. 

170.  The  Youth  of  Alexander.  Alexander  was  only  twenty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  his  father's  throne.  Certain  in- 
fluences under  which  the  boy  came  in  his  earliest  years  left  a 
permanent  impress  upon  his  mind  and  character.  By  his  mother 
he  was  taught  to  trace  his  descent  from  the  great  Achilles,  and  was 
incited  to  emulate  his  exploits  and  to  make 
him  his  model  in  all  things.  The  Iliad^  which 
recounts  the  deeds  of  that  mythical  hero, 
became  the  prince's  inseparable  companion. 

After  his  mother's  influence,  perhaps  that 
of  the  philosopher  Aristotle,  whom  Philip 
persuaded  to  become  the  tutor  of  the  youth- 
ful Alexander,  was  the  most  formative. 
This  great  teacher  implanted  in  the  mind 
of  the  young  prince  a  love  of  literature  and 
philosophy,  and  through  his  inspiring  com- 
panionship exercised  over  the  eager,  im- 
pulsive boy  an  influence  for  good  which 
Alexander  himself  gratefully  acknowledged 
in  later  years. 

171.  Alexander  crosses  the  Hellespont ;  the  Battle  of  the 
Granicus  (334  B.C.).  Alexander  carried  out  his  father's  scheme 
in  regard  to  the  Asiatic  expedition.  In  the  spring  of  334  B.C.  he 
set  out  at  the  head  of  an  army  numbering  about  thirty-five  thou- 
sand men  for  the  conquest  of  the  Persian  Empire.  Crossing  the 
Hellespont,  he  met  on  the  banks  of  the  Granicus  a  Persian  army, 
over  which  he  gained  a  decisive  victory.  All  Asia  Minor  now  lay 
open  to  the  invader,  and  soon  practically  all  of  its  cities  and  tribes 
were  brought  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Macedonian.^ 


Fig.  44.  Alexander 

THE  Great 
(Capitoline  Museum) 


1  At  fJordium,  in  Phn'gia,  Alexander  performed  an  exploit  which  has  given  the 
world  one  of  its  favorite  apothegms.  In  the  temple  at  this  place  was  a  chariot  to  the 
pole  of  which  a  yoke  was  fastened  by  a  curiously  intricate  knot.    An  oracle  had  been 


112  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  [§172 

172.  The  Battle  of  Issus  (333  B.C.).  At  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  Mediterranean  lies  the  plain  of  Issus.  Here  Alexander  met 
and  defeated  another  great  Persian  army.  The  king  himself^ 
escaped  from  the  field,  and  hastened  to  his  capital  Susa  to  raise 
another  army  to  oppose  the  march  of  the  conqueror. 

173.  Alexander  in  Egypt.  With  Syria  and  the  cities  of 
Phoenicia  subject  to  his  will,  Alexander  marched  down  into  Egypt. 
The  Egyptians  made  no  resistance  to  him,  but  willingly  exchanged 
masters.  While  in  the  country,  Alexander  founded  at  one  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Nile  a  city  named  after  himself  Alexandria.  The 
city  became  the  meeting  place  of  the  East  and  the  West.  Its  im- 
portance through  many  centuries  attests  the  farsighted  wisdom 
of  its  founder. 

A  less  worthy  enterprise  of  the  conqueror  was  his  expedition  to 
the  oasis  of  Siwah,  located  in  the  Libyan  desert,  where  were  a 
celebrated  temple  and  oracle  of  Zeus  Ammon.  To  gratify  his 
vanity,  to  impress  his  new  oriental  subjects,  and  especially  to 
qualify  himself  as  the  legitimate  successor  of  the  divine  Pharaoh, 
Alexander  desired  to  be  declared  of  celestial  descent.  The  priests 
of  the  temple,  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  the  king,  gave  out 
that  the  oracle  pronounced  Alexander  to  be  the  son  of  Zeus  and 
the  destined  ruler  of  the  world. 

174.  The  Battle  of  Arbela  (331  B.C.).  From  Egypt  Alexander 
retraced  his  steps  to  Syria  and  marched  eastward.  At  Arbela, 
not  far  from  the  ancient  Nineveh,  his  farther  advance  was  dis- 
puted by  Darius  with  an  immense  army.  The  Persian  host  was 
overthrown  with  enormous  slaughter.  Darius  lied  from  the  field, 
as  he  had  done  at  Issus,  and  later  was  treacherously  killed  by 
an  attendant. 

The  battle  of  Arbela  was  one  of  the  decisive  combats  of  history. 
It  marked  the  end  of  the  long  struggle  between  the  East  and  the 
West,  between  Persia  and  Greece,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the 
spread  of  Hellenic  civilization  over  all  western  Asia. 

spread  abroad  to  the  effect  that  whoever  should  unlic  the  knot  would  become  master  of 
Asia.  Alexander  attempted  the  feat.  Unable  to  loosen  the  knot,  he  drew  his  sword  and 
out  it.  Hence  the  phrase  "cutting  the  fJordian  knot,"  — meaning  a  short  way  out  of  a 
difficulty.  '  Darius  III  (vi'J-.J.^o  i).  c). 


§175]  ALEXANDER  AT  BABYLON  113 

175.  Alexander  at  Babylon,  Susa,  and  Persepolis.  From  the 
field  of  Arbela  Alexander  marched  south  to  Babylon,  which  opened 
its  gates  to  him  without  opposition.  Susa  was  next  entered  by 
the  conqueror.  Here  he  seized  incredible  quantities  of  gold  and 
silver  ($57,000,000,  it  is  said),  the  treasure  of  the  Great  King. 

From  Susa  Alexander's  march  was  directed  to  Persepolis,  where 
he  secured  a  treasure  more  than  twice  as  great  as  that  found  at 
Susa.  Upon  Persepolis  Alexander  wreaked  vengeance  for  all  that 
Greece  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians.  Many  of  the 
inhabitants  were  massacred  and  others  sold  into  slavery,  while  the 
palaces  of  the  Persian  kings  were  given  to  the  flames.^ 

176.  Conquests  in  India.  With  the  tribes  of  what  is  now 
known  as  Afghanistan  subdued,  and  the  remote  countries  of 
Bactria  and  Sogdiana,  lying  north  of  the  Hindu  Kush,  conquered 
and  settled,  Alexander  recrossed  the  mountains  and  led  his  army 
down  into  the  rich  and  crowded  plains  of  India  (327  B.C.).  Here 
again  he  showed  himself  invincible,  and  received  the  submission 
of  many  of  the  native  princes. 

Alexander's  desire  was  to  extend  his  conquests  to  the  Ganges, 
but  his  soldiers  began  to  murmur  at  the  length  and  hardness  of 
their  campaigns,  and  reluctantly  he  turned  back.  His  return  route 
lay  through  the  ancient  Gedrosia,  now  Baluchistan,  a  region 
frightful  with  burning  deserts,  amidst  which  his  soldiers  endured 
almost  incredible  privations  and  sufferings.  After  a  trying  and 
calamitous  march  of  over  two  months,  Alexander,  with  the  sur- 
vivors of  his  army,  reached  Carmania  in  Persia. 

177.  The  Plans  and  Death  of  Alexander.  As  the  capital  of 
his  vast  empire,  which  now  stretched  from  the  Ionian  Sea  to  the 
Indus,  Alexander  chose  the  ancient  Babylon,  upon  the  Euphrates, 
for  the  reason  that  such  a  location  of  the  seat  of  government  would 
help  to  promote  his  plans,  which  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  the 
union  and  Hellenizing  of  the  world. 

In  the  midst  of  his  vast  projects  Alexander  was  seized  by  a 
fever,  brought  on  doubtless  by  his  insane  excesses,  and  died 
at  Babylon,  323  b.c,  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  his  age.    His 

1  Read  Dry  den's  Alcxaiulct-'s  Feast. 


114  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  [§178 

soldiers  could  not  let  him  die  without  seeing  him.  The  watchers  of 
the  palace  were  obliged  to  open  the  doors  to  them,  and  the  veterans 
of  a  hundred  battlefields  filed  sorrowfully  past  the  couch  of  their 
dying  commander.  His  body  was  carried  first  to  Memphis,  but 
afterwards  to  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  and  there  inclosed  in  a  golden 
coffin,  over  which  was  raised  a  splendid  mausoleum.  His  ambition 
for  celestial  honors  was  gratified  in  his  death ;  for  in  Egypt  and 
elsewhere  temples  were  dedicated  to  him,  and  divine  worship  was 
paid  to  his  statues. 

178.  Results  of  Alexander's  Conquests.  The  remarkable  con- 
quests of  Alexander  had  far-reaching  consequences.  First,  they 
ended  the  long  struggle  between  Persia  and  Greece,  and  spread 
Hellenic  civilization  over  Egypt  and  western  Asia.  It  is  particu- 
larly this  spreading  abroad  of  the  culture  of  Greece  which  makes 
the  short-lived  Macedonian  Empire  of  such  importance  in  uni- 
versal history. 

Second,  the  distinction  between  Greek  and  barbarian  was  ef- 
faced, and  the  sympathies  of  men,  hitherto  so  narrow  and  local, 
were  widened,  and  thus  an  important  preparation  was  made  for 
the  reception  of  the  Christian  creed  of  universal  brotherhood. 

Third,  the  world  was  given  a  universal  language  of  culture, 
which  was  a  further  preparation  for  the  spread  of  Christian 
teachings. 

But  the  evil  effects  of  these  conquests  were  also  positive  and 
far-reaching.  The  sudden  acquisition  by  the  Greeks  of  the  enor- 
mous wealth  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  contact  with  the  vices 
and  the  effeminate  luxury  of  the  oriental  nations,  had  a  most 
demoralizing  effect  upon  Hellenic  life.  Greece  became  corrupt, 
and  she  in  turn  corrupted  Rome.  Thus  the  civilization  of  classical 
antiquity  was  undermined. 

References.  Pi.UTARril,  Demosthenes  zx\A  Alexander.  PiCKARD-CAMitRinCK, 
A.  W.,  Dtiiiosthciies.  Wiikki.er,  15.  I.,  Alcxaudcr.  Dodc.k,  T.  A.,  Alexander. 
Hogarth.  D.  G.,  Philip  and  Alexander  of  Macedon  and  The  Ancient  liast, 
chap.  V.  Mahaffy,  J.  V,.,  The  Story  of  Alexander's  Empire,  chaps,  i-v ;  Greek 
Life  and  Thoitf^ht,  chap,  ii ;  and  Problems  in  Greek  History,  chap,  vii,  "  Practical 
Politics  in  the  Fourth  f'entury." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  GRiECO-ORIENTAL  WORLD  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  ALEX- 
ANDER TO  THE  CONQUEST  OF  GREECE  BY  THE  ROMANS 

(323-146  B.C.) 

179.  Hellenistic  Culture.  It  has  already  been  noticed  that  one 
of  the  most  important  results  of  the  conquests  of  Alexander  was 
the  spreading  of  Greek  culture  over  the  countries  of  the  Near  East. 
It  was  chiefly  through  two  agencies  that  the  Greek  language  and 
arts  and  Greek  letters  were  spread  throughout  the  Orient.  These 
were,  first,  the  courts  of  the  successors  of  Alexander  which  were 
established  in  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Egypt ;  and,  second,  the 
hundreds  of  Greek  cities  which  were  founded  throughout  all  the 
regions  included  in  the  kingdoms  of  these  Graeco-AIacedonian 
rulers.  Each  court  and  each  city  was  the  radiating  center  of  Greek 
culture  and  arts.  The  new  cities,  however,  which  were  the  more 
effective  of  the  two  agencies  in  the  spread  of  Greek  culture, 
were  founded  generally  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  native  population 
more  or  less  advanced  in  civilization.  In  this  environment  Hellenic 
culture  in  all  its  elements — language,  arts,  manners  and  customs, 
ways  of  living,  and  ways  of  thinking — inevitably  became  modified, 
in  some  countries  less,  in  others  more.  We  indicate  this  changed 
character  of  the  civilization  by  calling  it  Hellenistic,'^  thereby 
distinguishing  it  from  the  pure  Hellenic  culture  of  Greece. 

The  formation  of  this  Hellenistic  or  Graeco-oriental  culture  is 
one  of  the  great  matters  of  universal  history,  a  matter  like  the 
formation  later  of  the  Gra^co-Roman  civilization  in  the  great 
melting-pot  of  the  world-empire  of  Rome. 

In  the  remaining  sections  of  this  chapter  we  shall  speak  briefly 
of  some  noteworthy  matters  in  the  history  of  continental  Greece 

1  From  Hellenist,  a  non-Greek  who  adopts  the  Greek  language  and  imitates  Greek 
manners  and  customs. 


ii6  THE  GR.ECO-ORIENTAL  WORLD  [USO 

during  the  Hellenistic  period  and  of  the  leading  kingdoms  that 
resulted   from  the  break-up  of  the  empire  of  Alexander. 

180.  Macedonia.  Before  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  b.c. 
the  vast  empire  created  by  Alexander's  unparalleled  conquests  had 
become  broken  into  many  fragments.  Besides  minor  states/  three 
kingdoms  of  special  importance,  centering  in  Macedonia,  Syria, 
and  Egypt,  rose  out  of  the  ruins.  All  were  finally  overwhelmed  by 
the  now  rapidly  rising  power  of  Rome. 

The  story  of  Macedonia  from  the  death  of  Alexander  on  to  the 
conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Romans  is  made  up  largely  of  the 
quarrels  and  crimes  of  rival  aspirants  for  the  crown  that  Philip 
and  Alexander  had  worn.  The  country  was  one  of  the  first  east 
of  the  Adriatic  to  come  in  hostile  contact  with  the  great  military 
republic  of  the  West.  After  much  intrigue  and  a  series  of  wars, 
the  country  was  eventually  brought  into  subjection  to  the  Italian 
power  and  made  into  a  Roman  province  (146  B.C.).  A  large  part 
of  the  population  were  sold  as  slaves.  Not  a  man  of  note  was  left 
in  the  country.  The  great  but  short  role  Macedonia  had  played 
in  history  was  ended. 

181.  Continental  Greece.  From  the  subjection  of  Greece  by 
Philip  of  Macedon  to  the  absorption  of  Macedonia  into  the  growing 
dominions  of  Rome,  the  Greek  cities  of  the  peninsula  were,  much 
of  the  time,  under  the  real  or  nominal  overlordship  of  the  Macedo- 
nian kings. 

In  the  third  century  b.c.  there  arose  in  Greece  two  important 
confederacies,  known  as  the  Achx^an  and  .^tolian  leagues,  whose 
history  embraces  almost  every  matter  of  interest  and  instruction 
in  the  later  political  life  of  the  Greek  cities.    These  late  attempts 

1  Of  these  lesser  states  the  followinf;;  should  he  noted  : 

a.  Rhodes.  The  city  of  Rhodes,  on  the  island  of  the  same  name,  became  the  head 
of  a  federation  of  adjacent  island  and  coast  cities,  and  thus  laid  the  basis  of  a  remarkable 
commercial  prosperity  and  naval  power.  It  was  one  of  the  chief  centers  of  Hellenistic 
culture,  and  acquired  a  wide  fame  through  its  schools  of  art  and  rhetoric.  Julius  Cxsar 
and  Cicero  both  studied  here  under  Khodian  teachers  of  oratory. 

fi.  Pontus.  I'ontus  (flreek  for  sf<i),  a  state  of  Asia  Minor,  was  so  called  from  its 
position  upon  the  Kuxine.  It  was  never  thoroughly  conquered  by  the  Macedonians.  It 
has  a  place  in  history  mainly  because  of  the  luster  shed  upon  it  by  the  transcendent 
ability  of  one  of  its  kings,  Mithradates  the  (Jreat  (sect.  278). 


§182]  THE  SYRIAN  KINGDOM  117 

at  federation  among  the  Grecian  cities  were  fostered  by  the  intense 
desire  of  all  patriotic  Hellenes  to  free  themselves  from  the  hated 
arbitership  of  Macedonia.  The  Greeks  had  learned  at  last — 
but  unhappily  too  late — that  the  liberty  they  prized  so  highly 
could  be  maintained  only  through  union. 

Both  of  the  leagues  were  broken  up  by  Rome.  In  the  year 
146  B.C.,  Corinth,  the  most  important  member  of  the  Achaean 
League,  was  taken  by  the  Romans,  the  men  were  killed,  the  women 
and  children  sold  into  slavery,  the  rich  art  treasures  of  the  city 
sent  as  trophies  to  Rome,  and  its  temples  and  other  buildings  given 
to  the  flames.  Later  all  Greece,  under  the  name  of  Achaea,  was 
reduced  to  the  status  of  a  Roman  province. 

182.  The  Syrian  Kingdom.  During  the  two  centuries  and 
more  of  its  existence  the  Syrian  kingdom  played  an  important  part 
in  the  civil  history  of  the  world.  Under  its  first  king  it  comprised 
nominally  almost  all  the  countries  of  Asia  conquered  by  Alexander, 
thus  stretching  from  the  Hellespont  to  the  Indus  ;  but  in  reality  the 
monarchy  embraced  only  Asia  Minor,  part  of  Syria,  and  the  old 
Assyria  and  Babylonia.  Its  rulers  were  called  Seleucidae,  from 
the  founder  of  the  kingdom,  Seleucus  Nicator,  famous  as  the 
builder  of  cities.  The  successors  of  Seleucus  Nicator  led  the  king- 
dom through  checkered  fortunes.  On  different  sides  provinces  fell 
away  and  became  independent  states.^  At  last,  coming  into  col- 
lision with  Rome,  the  kingdom  was  destroyed,  and  its  lands  were 
incorporated  with  the  Roman  Republic  (63  B.C.). 

183.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Ptolemies  in  Egypt  (323-30  B.C.). 
The  Graeco-Egyptian  empire  of  the  Ptolemies,  founded  by 
Ptolemy  I,  surnamed  Soter,  was  by  far  the  most  important,  in  its 
influence  upon  the  civilization  of  the  world,  of  all  the  kingdoms 
that  owed  their  origin  to  the  conquests  of  Alexander.  Under 
Ptolemy  I,  Alexandria  became  the  great  depot  of  exchange  for  the 
products  of  the  ancient  world.    At  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  stood 

1  The  most  noteworthy  of  these  was  Pergamum,  a  state  in  western  Asia  Minor  which 
became  independent  upon  the  death  of  Seleucus  Nicator  (2S1  li.  c).  Its  capital,  also 
called  Pergamum,  became  a  most  noted  center  of  Greek  learning  and  civilization,  and 
through  its  great  library  and  university  gained  the  renown  of  being,  next  to  Alexandria 
in  Egypt,  the  greatest  city  of  the  lIcllcnistiQ  world. 


ii8  THE  GR^CO-ORIENTAL  WORLD  [§  184 

the  Pharos,  or  lighthouse, —  the  first  structure  of  its  kind.  This 
edifice  was  reckoned  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world. 

But  it  was  not  alone  the  exchange  of  material  products  that 
was  comprehended  in  Ptolemy's  scheme.  His  aim  was  to  make  his 
capital  the  intellectual  center  of  the  world — the  place  where  the 
arts,  sciences,  literatures,  and  even  the  religions  of  the  world 
should  meet  and  mingle.  He  founded  the  famous  Museum,  a  sort 
of  college,  which  became  the  "  University  of  the  East,"  and  estab- 
lished the  renowned  Alexandrian  Library.  He  encouraged  poets, 
artists,  philosophers,  and  teachers  in  all  departments  of  learning 
to  settle  in  Alexandria  by  conferring  upon  them  immunities  and 
privileges,  and  by  gifts  and  a  munificent  patronage.  His  court 
embraced  the  learning  and  genius  of  the  age. 

The  rule  of  the  Ptolemies  in  Egypt  lasted  almost  exactly  three 
centuries  (323-30  B.C.).  The  story  of  the  beautiful  but  dissolute 
Cleopatra,  the  last  of  the  house  of  the  Ptolemies,  belongs  properly 
to  the  history  of  Rome,  which  city  was  now  interfering  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Orient.  In  the  year  30  B.C.,  the  year  which  marks 
the  death  of  Cleopatra,  Egypt  was  made  a  Roman  province. 

184.  Conclusion.  We  have  now  traced  the  political  fortunes 
of  the  Greek  race  through  about  six  centuries  of  authentic  history. 
In  succeeding  chapters,  in  order  to  render  more  complete  the  pic- 
ture we  have  endeavored  to  draw  of  ancient  Hellas,  we  shall  add 
some  details  respecting  Hellenic  art,  literature,  philosophy,  and 
society.  Even  a  short  study  of  these  matters  will  help  us  to  form 
a  more  adequate  conception  of  that  wonderful,  many-sided  genius 
of  the  Hellenic  race  which  enabled  Hellas,  "captured,  to  lead 
captive  her  captor." 

References.  Holm,  A.,  vol.  iv  (the  best  history  in  English  of  the  period). 
CjARDNKR,  E.  a.,  Neio  Chapters  in  Greek  l/istp>y,  chap,  xv,  "The  Successors 
of  Alexander  and  Greek  Civilization  in  the  East."  Mahakfy,  J.  B.,  T/ie  Story 
of  Alexander's  Empire,  chaps,  vi-xxxii ;  Greek  Life  and  Thought  from  the 
Age  of  Alexander  to  the  Roman  Conquest;  and  The  Progress  of  Hellenism  in 
Alexander's  Empire. 


CHAPTER  XX 
GREEK  ARCHITECTURE,  SCULPTURE,  AND  PAINTING 

185.  Introductory  :  the  Greek  Sense  of  Beauty.  The  Greeks 
were  artists  by  nature.  Everything  they  made,  from  the  shrines 
for  their  gods  to  the  meanest  utensils  of  domestic  use,  was  beau- 
tiful. "Ugliness  gave  them  pain  like  a  blow."  Beauty  they  placed 
next  to  holiness ;  indeed,  they  almost  or  quite  made  beauty  and 
goodness  the  same  thing.  They  are  said  to  have  thought  it  strange 
that  Socrates  was  good,  seeing  he  was  so  homely. 

I.  ARCHITECTURE 

186.  Orders  of  Greek  Architecture.  By  the  close  of  the  sixth 
century  Greek  architecture  had  made  considerable  advance  and 
presented  three  distinct  styles,  or  orders.  These  are  commonly 
known  as  the  Doric,  the  Ionic,  and  the  Corinthian  (Fig.  45). 
They  are  distinguished  from  one  another  chiefly  by  differences  in 
the  proportions  and  ornamentation  of  the  column. 

The  Doric  column  is  without  a  base  and  has  a  plain  capital. 
At  first  the  Doric  temples  of  the  Greeks  were  almost  as  massive 
as  those  of  the  Egyptians,  but  gradually  they  grew  less  heavy. 

The  Ionic  column  is  characterized  chiefly  by  the  volutes,  or 
spiral  scrolls,  of  its  capital,  but  is  also  marked  by  its  fluting,  its 
base,  and  its  slender  proportions.  This  form  was  principally  em- 
ployed by  the  Greeks  of  Ionia,  whence  its  name. 

The  Corinthian  order  is  distinguished  by  its  rich  capital,  formed 
of  acanthus  leaves.  This  order  was  not  much  employed  in  Greece 
before  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

The  entire  structure  was  made  to  harmonize  with  its  supporting 
columns.  The  general  characteristics  of  the  orders  are  happily 
suggested  by  the  terms  we  use  when  we  speak  of  the  severe  Doric, 
the  graceful  Ionic,  and  the  ornate  Corinthian. 

119 


120 


GREEK  ARCHITECTURE 


[§187 


Speaking  of  the  place  which  these  styles  held  in  Greek  archi- 
tecture and  have  held  in  that  of  the  world  since  Greek  times,  an 
eminent  authority  says,  "We  may  admit  that  the  invention  and 
perfecting  of  these  orders  of  Greek  architecture  has  been  (with 
one  exception— the  introduction  of  the  arch)  the  most  important 
event  in  the  architectural  history  of  the  world." 


Doric  Ionic  Corinthian 

Fig.  45.    Orders  of  Greek  Architecture 

It  was  religious  feeling  which  created  the  noblest  monuments 
of  the  architectural  genius  of  Hellas.  Hence  in  the  few  words 
which  we  shall  have  to  say  about  Greek  buildings  our  attention 
will  be  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  temples  of  Greece. 

187.  The  Delphian  Temple.  One  of  the  oldest  temple  sites  in 
Greece  was  at  Delphi.  In  the  year  548  b.c.  the  temple  then  stand- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire.  All  the  cities  and  states  of  Hellas  con- 
tributed to  its  rebuilding.  The  later  structure  was  impressive  from 
both  its  colossal  size  and  the  massive  simplicity  that  characterizes 
the  Doric  style  of  architecture.  It  was  crowded  with  the  spoils 
of  many  battlefields,  with  the  rich  gifts  of  kings,  and  with  rare 
works  of  art.^    After  remaining  long  secure,  through  the  awe  and 

1  Besides  being  in  a  sense  museums,  the  temples  of  the  r; recks  were  also  banks  of 
deposit.  The  priests  often  loaned  out  on  interest  the  money  deposited  with  them,  the 
revenue  from  this  source  being  added  to  that  from  the  leased  lands  of  the  temple  and 
from  the  tithes  of  war  booty  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  services  of  the  shrine. 


o 

o 


§188]  THE  ATHENIAN  PARTHENON  121 

reverence  which  its  oracle  inspired,  it  finally  suffered  repeated 
spoliation.  The  Phocians,  pressed  for  funds  in  a  war,  despoiled 
the  temple  of  a  treasure  equivalent,  it  is  estimated,  to  more  than 
$10,000,000,  and  later  the  Romans  seem  to  have  stripped  it 
almost  bare  of  its  art  treasures. 

188.  The  Athenian  Parthenon.  We  have  already  glanced  at 
the  Parthenon,  the  sanctuary  of  the  virgin  goddess  Athena,  upon 
the  Acropolis  at  Athens  (sect.  151).  This  temple,  which  is  built 
in  the  Doric  order,  of  marble  from  the  neighboring  Pentelicus,  is 
regarded  as  the  finest  specimen  of  Greek  architecture.  The  art 
exhibited  in  its  construction  is  an  art  of  ideal  perfection.  After 
standing  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  and  having  served 
successively  as  a  pagan  temple,  a  Christian  church,  and  a  ISIoham- 
medan  mosque,  it  finally  was  made  to  serve  as  a  Turkish  powder 
magazine  in  a  war  with  the  Venetians  in  1687.  Unfortunately  a 
bomb  ignited  the  magazine,  and  more  than  half  of  the  wonderful 
masterpiece  was  shivered  into  fragments.  Even  in  its  ruined  state 
the  structure  is  the  most  highly  prized  memorial  that  we  possess 
of  the  builders  of  the  ancient  world. 

189.  Olympia  and  the  Temple  of  Zeus  Olympius.  The  sacred 
plain  of  the  Alpheus  in  Elis  was,  as  we  have  learned,  the  spot 
where  were  held  the  celebrated  Olympian  games.  Here  was  raised 
a  magnificent  Doric  temple  consecrated  to  Zeus  Olympius,  and 
around  it  were  grouped  a  vast  number  of  shrines,  treasure-houses, 
porticoes,  and  various  other  structures. 

For  many  centuries  these  buildings  adorned  the  consecrated 
spot  and  witnessed  the  recurring  festivals.  But  in  the  fifth  century 
of  our  era  the  Christian  emperor  Theodosius  II  ordered  their 
destruction,  as  monuments  of  paganism,  and  the  splendid  struc- 
tures were  given  to  the  flames.  Earthquakes,  landslips,  and  the 
floods  of  the  Alpheus  completed  in  time  the  work  of  destruction 
and  buried  the  ruins  beneath  a  thick  layer  of  earth. 

For  centuries  the  desolate  spot  remained  unvisited ;  but  late 
in  the  last  century  the  Germans  excavated  the  temple  site  and 
the  sites  of  about  forty  other  structures.  The  remains  um^arthed 
were  of  such  an  extensive  nature  as  to  make  possible  a  restoration 


122 


GREEK  ARCHITECTURE 


[§  190 


of  the  noble  assemblage  of  buildings  which  we  may  believe  re- 
creates with  fidelity  the  scene  looked  upon  by  the  visitor  to 
Olympia  in  the  days  of  its  architectural  glory  (Fig.  46). 

190.  Theaters  and  Stadia.  The  Greek  theater  was  semi- 
circular in  form,  and  open  to  the  sky,  as  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying cut.  The  space  between  the  lower  range  of  seats  and 
the  stage  was  the  orchestra,  or  dancing-place   for   the  chorus. 


Fig.  47.  The  TiiEATER  of  Dionysus  at  Athens.  (From  a  photograph) 

The  most  noted  of  Greek  theaters  was  the  Theater  of  Dionysus 
at  Athens,  which  was  the  model  of  all  the  others.  It  was  cut 
partly  in  the  native  rock  on  the  southeastern  slope  of  the  Acropolis, 
the  Greeks  in  the  construction  of  their  theaters  generally  taking 
advantage  of  a  hillside.  The  structure  probably  would  seat  about 
twenty  thousand  spectators. 

The  Greek  stadium,  in  which  foot  races  and  other  games 
were  held,  was  a  narrow  rectangular  enclosure  between  six  and 
seven  hundred  feet  in  length.  In  its  construction,  as  in  that  of 
the  theater,  advantage  was  usually  taken  of  a  hillside,  or  of  a 
trough  between  two  ridges,  the  slopes  of  which  gave  standing- 
ground  for  the  spectators  or,  in  later  times,  formed  the  foundation 
for  tiers  of  wooden  or  stone  seats.  There  was  a  stadium  at  every 
chief  place  of  assemblage  in  the  Greek  world. 


§191] 


THE  ARCHAIC  PERIOD 


123 


II.  SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING 


Ji^ 


'-^ 


191.  The  Archaic  Period,  down  to  the  Persian  Wars.  Among 
the  oldest  remains  of  Greek  sculpture  are  specimens  of  carvings 
in  relief.  A  good  example  of  this  archaic  phase 
of  Greek  sculpture  is  seen  in  the  tombstone 
of  Aristion  (Fig.  48),  discovered  in  Attica  in 
1838.  The  date  of  this  work  is  placed  at  about 
500  B.C.  A  sort  of  Egyptian  rigidity  still  binds 
the  limbs  of  the  figure,  yet  there  are  sugges- 
tions of  the  grace  and  freedom  of  a  truer  and 
a  higher  art. 

192.  Influence  of  the  Olympic  Games  and 
the  Gymnasium  upon  Greek  Sculpture.  To- 
ward the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century  B.C. 
it  became  the  custom  to  set  up  images  of  the 
victors  in  the  Olympic  games.  It  was  probably 
this  custom  that  gave  one  of  the  earliest  impulses 
to  Greek  sculpture.  The  grounds  at  Olympia 
became  crowded  with  "a  band  of  chosen  youth 
in  imperishable  forms." 

In  still  another  way  did  the  Olympic  contests 
and  the  exercises  of  the  gymnasia  exert  a  most 
helpful  influence  upon  Greek  sculpture.  They 
afforded  the  artist  unrivaled  opportunities  for 
the  study  of  the  human  form.  "The  whole  race," 
as  Symonds  says,  "  lived  out  its  sculpture  and  its 
painting,  rehearsed,  as  it  were,  the  great  works 
of  Phidias  and  Polygnotus  in  physical  exercises 
before  it  learned  to  express  itself  in  marble  or 
in  color." 

193.  The  Period  of  Perfection  of  Greek  Sculpture ;  Phidias. 
Greek  sculpture  was  at  its  best  during  the  last  half  of  the  fifth 
century  b.c.^    The  preeminent  sculptor  of  this  period  of  perfection 


A 


A 


Fk;.  48.   Stele 
OF  Aristiox 

Example  of  archaic 
Attic  sculpture 


1  Almost  all  the  masterpieces  of  the  C.reek  sculptors  have  perished ;  they  are  known 
10  us  for  the  most  part  only  through  Roman  copies. 


124 


GREEK  SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING 


[§194 


was  Phidias.  It  was  his  genius  which,  as  already  mentioned,  cre- 
ated the  marvelous  figures  of  the  pediments  and  of  the  frieze  of 
the  Parthenon.^ 

The  most  celebrated  of  his  colossal  sculptures  were  the  statue 
of  Athena  within  the  Parthenon  and  that  of  Olympian  Zeus  in  the 
temple  at  Olympia.    The  statue  of  Athena  was  of  gigantic  size, 

being  about  forty  feet  in  height,  and 
was  constructed  of  ivory  and  gold, 
the  hair,  weapons,  and  drapery  being 
of  the  latter  material.  The  statue  of 
Olympian  Zeus  was  also  of  ivory  and 
gold.  It  was  sixty  feet  high  and 
represented  the  god  seated  on  his 
throne.  The  colossal  proportions  of 
this  wonderful  work,  as  well  as  the 
lofty  yet  benign  aspect  of  the  coun- 
tenance, harmonized  well  with  the 
popular  conception  of  the  majesty 
and  grace  of  the  "  father  of  gods  and 
men."  It  was  thought  a  great  mis- 
fortune to  die  without  having  seen 
the  Olympian  Zeus.  The  statue  was 
in  existence  for  eight  hundred  years.  It  is  believed  to  have  been 
carried  to  Constantinople  and  to  have  perished  there  in  a  con- 
flagration in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

194.  Praxiteles.  Though  Greek  sculpture  attained  its  highest 
perfection  in  the  fifth  century,  still  the  following  century  produced 
sculptors  whose  work  possessed  qualities  of  rare  excellence.  The 
most  eminent  sculptor  of  this  period  was  Praxiteles  (period  of 
activity  about  360-340  B.C.),  of  whom  it  has  been  said  that  he 
"rendered  into  stone  the  moods  of  the  soul."  Among  his  chief 
pieces  was  the  Hermes,  which  was  set  up  at  Olympia.  To  the  great 

1  The  subject  of  the  wonderful  frieze  was  the  procession  which  formed  the  most 
important  feature  of  an  Athenian  festival  celebrated  every  four  years  in  honor  of  the 
patron  goddess  of  Athens.  'I'he  best  part  of  the  frieze  is  now  in  the  British  Museum, 
the  Parthenon  having  been  largely  despoiled  of  its  coronal  of  sculptures  by  Lord  Elgin. 
Read  Lord  Byron's  The  Curse  of  Minerva. 


Fig.  49.   The  Wrestlers 

"  Particularly  were  the  games  pro- 
motive   of    sculpture,    since    they 
afforded  the  sculptor  living  models 
for  his  art "  (sect.  103) 


§195] 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  RHODES 


125 


joy  of  archaeologists  this  precious  memorial  of  antiquity  was  dis- 
covered in  1877,  so  that  now  we  possess  an  undoubtedly  original 
work  of  one  of  the  great  masters  of  Greek  sculpture  (Fig.  50). 

195.  The  School  of  Rhodes.  The  Grseco-oriental  period  saw  the 
rise  at  Rhodes,  at  this  time  the  commercial  emporium  of  the  eastern 
Mediterranean,  of  a  cele- 
brated school  of  sculp- 
ture. Very  many  of  the 
prized  works  of  Greek 
art  in  our  museums  were 
executed  by  members  of 
this  Rhodian  school. 
One  of  the  most  noted 
of  the  Rhodian  sculptors 
was  Chares,  the  designer 
of  the  celebrated  Colos- 
sus of  Rhodes  (about 
280  B.C.).  This  work 
was  reckoned  as  one  of 
the  seven  wonders  of 
the  world. ^ 

But  the  most  remark- 
able piece  of  sculpture 
(one  of  the  masterpieces 
of  Hellenistic  art)  at- 
tributed to  members  of  the  school  of  Rhodes  is  the  celebrated 
group  known  as  the  Laocoon  (Fig.  51),  found  at  Rome  in  1506. 
196.  Painting.  With  the  exception  of  antique  vases,  a  few 
patches  of  mural  decoration,  some  interesting  portraits,  dating 
probably  from  the  second  century  after  Christ,  found  in  graves 
in  Lower  Egypt,  and  colored  sculpturings,  all  specimens  of  Greek 
painting  have  perished.  Not  a  single  work  of  any  great  painter 
of  antiquity  has  survived  the  accidents  of  time.    Consequently 


Fig.  50.    Hermes  with  the  Infant 
Dionysus 

An  original  work  of  Praxiteles,  found  in  1S77  at 

Olympia.     "The  only  certainly  identified  original 

work  of  any  famous  Greek  Artist  " 


1  The  statue  was  not  quite  as  large  as  the  Statue  of  Liberty  in  New  York  harbor. 
After  standing  about  half  a  century,  the  Colossus  was  overthrown  by  an  earthquake. 
Nine  hundred  years  later  it  was  broken  up  and  sold  for  old  metal. 


126 


GREEK  SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING 


[§  196 


our  knowledge  of  Greek  painting  is  derived  chiefly  from  the  de- 
scription by  the  ancient  writers  of  renowned  works,  and  their 

anecdotes  of  great  painters. 
Polygnotus  (flourished 
475-455  B.C.)  has  been 
called  the  Prometheus  of 
painting,  because  he  was  the 
first  to  give  fire  and  ani- 
mation to  the  expression  of 
the  countenance.  "In  his 
hand,"  it  is  affirmed,  "the 
human  features  became  for 
the  first  time  the  mirror  of 
the  soul."  Of  a  Polyxena^ 
painted  by  this  great  master 
it  was  said  that  "she  car- 
ried in  her  eyelids  the  whole 
history  of  the  Trojan  War." 
Apelles,  the  "  Raphael  of 
antiquity,"  was  the  court 
painter  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  He  was  such  a  con- 
summate master  of  the  art 
of  painting  and  carried  it 
to  such  a  state  of  perfection 
that  the  ancient  writers 
spoke  of  it  as  the  "Art  of  Apelles."  After  him  the  art  declined, 
and  no  other  really  great  name  appears. 

References.  IIami.in,  A.  I).  F.,  Text-book  of  the  ffistoiy  of  Anhitcdiirc, 
chaps,  vi,  vii.  FowMCR,  II.  N.,  and  Whkki.kk,  J.  K.,  Greek  Are/nro/oi:^'. 
Murray,  A.  S.,  Handbook  of  Greek  Archtcology  ;  .-/  //iiio/y  of  Greek  Sculpture, 
2  vols. ;  and  The  Sculptures  of  the  Parthenon.  G\v.UfiTM,¥^.  A.,  Ancient  Athens 
and  Hamlbook  of  Greek  Sculpture.  Von  Mach,  E.,  Greek  Sculpture :  its  Spirit 
and  Principles.  (iARDNKR,  1'.,  Principles  of  Greek  Art.  Tarhki.I,,  F.  B.,  A 
/fisloiy  of  Greek  Art.    Harkisdn,  J.  F,.,  fntroductoiy  Studies  in  Greek  Art. 

'  Polyxcna  was  a  daughter  of  the  Trojan  Priam,  famous  for  her  beauty  and 
sufferings. 


.    Thk  LA(K()0N'  Gkol'p 
(\'atican  Museum) 

Found  at  Rome  in  1506.  The  subject  repre- 
sented is  the  cruel  suffering  inflicted  upon 
Laococin,  a  Trojan  priest,  and  his  two  sons, 
through  the  agency  of  terrible  serpents  sent 
by  Athena,  whose  anger  Laocoiin  had  incurred 
(see  .^Encid,  ii,  212-224) 


CHAPTER  XXI 
GREEK  LITERATURE 

197.  The  Greeks  as  Literary  Artists.  It  was  that  same  ex- 
quisite sense  of  fitness  and  proportion  and  beauty  which  made  the 
Greeks  artists  in  marble  that  also  made  them  artists  in  language. 
''Of  all  the  beautiful  things  which  they  created,"  says  Professor 
Jebb,  "their  own  language  was  the  most  beautiful."  This  language 
they  wrought  into  epics  and  lyrics  and  dramas  and  histories  and 
orations  as  incomparable  in  form  and  beauty  as  their  temples 
and  statues. 

198.  The  Homeric  Poems.  The  most  precious  literary  prod- 
ucts of  the  springtime  of  Hellas  are  the  so-called  Homeric  poems, 
— the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey, — wherein  are  reflected  the  glories 
of  that  brilliant  ^gean  civilization  which  preceded  the  historic 
culture  of  Greece. 

Until  the  rise  of  modern  German  criticism  these  poems  were 
almost  universally  ascribed  to  a  single  bard  named  Homer,  who 
was  believed  to  have  lived  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century 
B.C.,  one  or  two  centuries  after  the  events  commemorated  in  his 
poems..  Tradition  represents  seven  different  cities  as  contending 
for  the  honor  of  having  been  his  birthplace.  He  traveled  widely 
(so  it  was  believed),  lost  his  sight,  and  then  as  a  wandering 
minstrel  sang  his  immortal  verses  to  admiring  listeners  in  the 
different  cities  of  Hellas. 

But  it  is  now  the  -opinion  of  perhaps  the  majority  of  scholars 
that  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey,  as  they  stand  today,  are  not,  either 
of  them,  the  creation  of  a  single  poet.  They  are  believed  to  be 
the  work  of  many  bards.  The  ''Wrath  of  .'Vchilles,"  however, 
which  forms  the  nucleus  of  the  Iliad,  may,  with  very  great  proba- 
bility, be  ascribed  to  Homer,  whom  we  may  believe  to  have  been 
the  most  prominent  of  a  brotherhood  of  bards  who  flourished  about 

127 


12; 


GREEK  LITERATURE 


[§199 


the  ninth  and  eighth  centuries  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
Odyssey  is  probably  at  least  a  century  later  than  the  Iliad. 
199.  Hesiod.  Hesiod,  who  is  believed  to  have  lived  toward 
the  close  of  the  eighth  century  b.c,  was  the  poet  of  nature  and  of 
peasant  life  in  the  dim  transition  age  of  Hellas.    The  Homeric 

bards  sang  of  the  deeds  of 
heroes  and  of  a  far-away 
time  when  gods  mingled 
with  men.  Hesiod  sings  of 
common  men  and  of  every- 
day, present  duties.  His 
greatest  poem  is  Works 
and  Days.  This  is  in  the 
main  a  sort  of  farmer's 
calendar,  with  minute  in- 
structions respecting  farm 
labor,  and  beautiful  de- 
scriptive passages  of  the 
changing  seasons. 

200.  Lyric  Poetry.  The 
island  of  Lesbos  was  the 
hearth  and  home  of  sev- 
eral of  the  earlier  lyric 
poets.  Among  these  sing- 
ers was  Sappho  (about 
610-570  B.C.),  who  was 
exalted  by  the  Greeks  to 
a  place  next  to  Homer. 
Plato  calls  her  the  Tenth  Muse.  Although  her  fame  endures,  her 
poetry,  excepting  a  few  precious  verses,  has  long  since  perished. 
Anacreon  (period  of  poetical  activity  about  550-500  b.c.)  was 
a  courtier  at  the  time  of  the  Greek  tyrannies. 

But  the  greatest  of  the  Greek  lyric  poets,  and  perhaps  the 
greatest  of  all  lyric  poets  of  every  age  and  race,  was  Pindar  (522- 
448  B.C.).  He  was  born  at  Thebes,  but  spent  most  of  his  time 
in  the  cities  of  Magna  Graecia.    The  greater  number  of  Pindar's 


Fi(i.  52.    H().mi;k 
Ideal  portrait  of  the  Hellenistic  .'\ge 


§201] 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  GREEK  DRAMA 


129 


poems  were  inspired  by  the  scenes  of  the  national  festivals.  They 
describe  in  lofty  strains  the  splendors  of  the  Olympian  chariot 
races,  or  the  glory  of  the  victors  at  the  Isthmian,  the  Nemean, 
or  the  Pythian  games. 

201.  Origin  of  the  Greek  Drama.  The  Greek  drama,  in  both 
its  branches  of  tragedy  and  comedy,  grew  out  of  the  songs  and 
dances  instituted  in  honor  of  the  god  of  wine,  Dionysus.  Tragedy 
(goat  song,  possibly  from  the  accompanying  sacrifice  of  a  goat) 
sprang  from  the  graver  songs,  and  comedy  (village  song)  from  the 


Fig  53.    Hoeing  and  Ploughing.    (From  a  vase  painting  of  the  si.xth 

century  B.C.) 

Pray  to  Zeus  .  .  .  when  thou  beginnest  thy  labor,  as  soon  as,  putting  thy  hand  to  the 

plough,  thou  touchest  the  back  of  the  oxen  that  draw  at  the  oaken  beam.    Just  behind 

thee,  let  a  servant,  equipped  with  a  mattock,  raise  trouble  for  the  birds  by  covering  the 

seed.  —  Hesiod,  Works  and  Days,  w.  465-471  (Croiset's  trans.) 


lighter  and  more  farcical  ones.  Gradually  recital  and  dialogue 
were  added,  there  being  at  first  but  a  single  speaker,  then  two, 
and  finally  three,  which  last  was  the  classical  number. 

Owing  to  its  origin,  the  Greek  drama  always  retained  a  religious 
character  and,  further,  presented  two  distinct  features,  the  chorus 
(the  songs  and  dances)  and  the  dialogue.  At  first  the  chorus  was 
the  all-important  part ;  but  later  the  dialogue  became  the  more 
prominent  portion,  the  chorus,  however,  always  remaining  an  essen- 
tial feature  of  the  performance.  Finally,  in  the  golden  age  of  the 
Attic  stage,  the  chorus  dancers  and  singers  were  carefully  trained  at 
great  expense,  and  the  dialogue  and  choral  odes  were  the  master- 
piece of  some  great  poet, — and  then  the  Greek  drama,  the  most 
splendid  creation  of  human  genius,  was  complete. 

202.  The  Three  Great  Tragic  Poets.  There  are  three  great 
names  in  Greek  tragedy, — .^schylus,  Sophocles,  and  Euripides. 


130  GREEK  LITERATURE  [§  202 

These  dramatists  all  wrote  during  the  splendid  period  which  fol- 
lowed the  victories  of  the  Persian  Wars.  They  drew  the  material 
of  their  plays  chiefly  from  the  myths  and  legends  of  the  heroic 
age,  just  as  Shakespeare  for  many  of  his  plays  used  the  legends  of 
the  semi-historical  periods  of  his  own  country  or  of  other  lands. 
Of  the  two  hundred  and  more  dramas  produced  by  these  poets, 
only  thirty-two  have  escaped  the  accidents  of  time. 

^schylus  (525-456  B.C.)  knew  how  to  touch  the  hearts  of  the 
generation  that  had  won  the  victories  of  the  Persian  Wars,  for 
he  had  fought  at  Marathon  and  probably  also  at  Salamis.  The 
Athenians  called  him  the  Father  of  Tragedy.  The  central  idea 
of  his  dramas  is  that  "Zeus  tames  excessive  lifting  up  of  heart." 
Prometheus  Bowid  is  one  of  his  chief  works.  Another  of  his  great 
tragedies  is  Agamemnon^  thought  by  some  to  be  his  masterpiece. 
The  theme  of  his  The  Persians  was  the  defeat  of  Xerxes  and  his 
host,  which  afforded  the  poet  a  good  opportunity  "to  state  his 
philosophy  of  Nemesis,  here  being  a  splendid  tragic  instance  of 
pride  humbled,  of  greatness  brought  to  nothing,  through  one  man's 
impiety  and  pride." 

Sophocles  (about  496-405  b.c.)  while  yet  a  youth  gained  the 
prize  in  a  poetic  contest  with  ^^schylus.  Plutarch  says  that 
i^^schylus  was  so  chagrined  by  his  defeat  that  he  left  Athens  and 
retired  to  Sicily.  Sophocles  now  became  the  leader  of  tragedy 
at  Athens.  His  dramas  were  perfect  works  of  art.'  The  central 
idea  of  his  pieces  is  the  same  as  that  which  characterizes  those 
of  iEschylus,  namely,  that  self-will  and  insolent  pride  arouse  the 
righteous  indignation  of  the  gods,  and  that  no  mortal  can  contend 
successfully  against  the  will  of  Zeus. 

Euripides  (480-406  B.C.)  was  a  more  popular  dramatist  than 
either  y?<^schylus  or  Sophocles.  His  fame  passed  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  Greece.  Plutarch  says  that  the  Sicilians  were  so  fond 
of  his  lines  that  many  of  the  Athenian  prisoners,  taken  before 
Syracuse,  bought  their  liberty  by  teaching  their  masters  his  verses. 

1  The  chief  works  of  Sophocles  are  U'.dipus  Tyritniiits,  CF.dipiis  Coloneiis,  and 
Antigone,  all  of  which  are  founded  upon  the  old  tales  of  the  prehistoric  royal  line 
of  Thebes. 


§203]  COMEDY;  ARISTOPHANES  131 

203.  Comedy ;  Aristophanes.  Foremost  among  all  writers  of 
comedy  must  be  placed  Aristophanes  (about  450-385  B.C.).  For 
a  generation  his  inimitable  humor  furnished  the  Athenians  with 
a  chief  part  of  their  entertainment  in  the  theater.'  He  even  made 
the  Athenians  laugh  at  themselves  as  he  held  up  to  mirth-provoking 
ridicule  their  mania  for  everything  new,  and  made  fun  of  their 
proceedings  in  the  Ecclesia,  their  fondness  for  sitting  daylong  in 
their  great  law  courts,  and  their  way  of  doing  things  in  general. 

204.  The  Three  Great  Historians.  Poetry  is  the  first  form 
of  literary  expression  among  all  peoples.  So  we  must  not  be  sur- 
prised to  find  that  it  was  not  until  two  centuries  or  more  after  the 
composition  of  the  Homeric  poems,  that  is,  about  the  sixth  cen- 
tury B.C.,  that  prose  writing  appeared  among  the  Greeks.  Histori- 
cal composition  was  then  first  cultivated.  We  can  speak  briefly  of 
only  three  historians — Herodotus,  Thucydides,  and  Xenophon — 
whose  names  were  cherished  among  the  ancients,  and  whose 
writings  are  highly  valued  by  ourselves. 

Herodotus  (about  484-425  b.c),  born  at  Halicarnassus,  in 
Asia  Minor,  is  called  the  Father  of  History.  He  traveled  over 
much  of  the  then-known  world,  visiting  Italy,  Egypt,  and  Baby- 
Ionia,  and  described  as  an  eyewitness,  with  a  never-faiHng  vivacity 
and  freshness,  the  wonders  of  the  different  lands  he  had  seen. 
Herodotus  lived  in  a  story-telling  age,  and  he  is  himself  an  inimi- 
table story-teller.  To  him  we  are  indebted  for  a  large  part  of  the 
picturesque  tales  of  antiquity, —  tales  of  men  and  happenings  of 
which  the  world  will  never  tire.  He  was  overcredulous,  and  was 
often  imposed  upon  by  his  guides  in  Egypt  and  at  Babylon  ;  but 
he  describes  with  great  care  and  accuracy  what  he  himself  saw. 
The  central  theme  of  his  great  history  is  the  Persian  Wars,  the 
struggle  between  Asia  and  Greece. 

Thucydides  (about  471-400  B.C.),  though  not  so  popular  an 
historian  as  Herodotus,  was  a  much  more  philosophical  writer. 
He  held  a  command  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  but  having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Athenians  he  was 
sent  into  the  exile  which  afforded   him  leisure  to  compose  his 

1  H  is  best-known  plays  arc  the  K'nighis,  the  Cloinis,  the  1 1  as/'s,  the  Bin/<.  and  the  Froq-r. 


132  GREEK  LITERATURE  [§205 

history  of  that  great  struggle.  Thucydides  died  before  his  task  was 
completed.  His  work  is  considered  a  model  of  historical  writing. 
Demosthenes  read  and  reread  his  writings  to  improve  his  own 
style ;  and  the  greatest  orators  and  historians  of  modern  times 
have  been  equally  diligent  students  of  the  work  of  the  great 
Athenian. 

Xenophon  (about  445-355  b.c.)  was  an  Athenian,  and  is  known 
both  as  a  general  and  as  a  writer.    The  works  that  render  his  name 

so  familiar  are  his  Anabasis,  a  simple 
yet  thrilling  narrative  of  the  expedition 
of  the  Ten  Thousand  Greeks  (sect.  162), 
and  his  Memorabilia,  or ''  Recollections  " 
of  Socrates. 

205.  Oratory ;    Demosthenes.    The 

art  of  oratory  among  the  Greeks  was 

fostered  and  developed  by  the  generally 

democratic  character  of  their  institu- 

f"!  ■  \       tions.     The   public  assemblies  of   the 

Fig.  54.   THucvniDF.s         democratic   cities  were   great  debating 

(National  Museum,  Naples)      clubs,  open  to  all.  The  gift  of  eloquence 

secured  for  its  possessor  a  sure  preemi- 
nence. The  great  jury  courts  of  Athens  (sect.  150)  were  also 
schools  of  oratory ;  for  every  citizen  there  was  obliged  to  be  his 
own  advocate  and  to  defend  his  own  case. 

It  has  been  the  fortune  of  Demosthenes  (385-322  b.c.)  to  have 
his  name  become  throughout  the  world  the  synonym  of  eloquence. 
The  labors  and  struggles  by  which,  according  to  tradition,  he 
achieved  excellence  in  his  art  are  held  up  anew  to  each  generation 
of  youth  as  guides  to  the  path  to  success.  Respecting  the  ora- 
tions of  Demosthenes  against  Philip  of  Macedon  we  have  already 
spoken  (sect.  168). 

206.  The  Alexandrian  Age  (300-146  B.C.).  Under  the  Ptole- 
mies Alexandria  in  Egypt  became  the  center  of  literary  activity, 
hence  the  term  Alexandrian,  applied  to  the  literature  of  the 
age.  The  great  INIuseum  and  Library  of  the  Ptolemies  afforded  in 
that  capital  such  facilities  for  students  and  authors  as  existed  in 


§  207]  GR^CO-ROMAN  WRITERS  133 

no  other  city  in  the  world.  But  the  creative  age  of  Greek  litera- 
ture was  over.  The  writers  of  the  period  were  commentators  and 
translators.  One  of  the  most  important  literary  undertakings  of 
the  age  was  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament  into  Greek.  From  the  traditional  number  of  transla- 
tors (seventy)  the  version  is  known  as  the  Septuagint. 

Among  the  poets  of  the  period  one  name,  and  only  one,  stands 
out  clear  and  preeminent.  This  is  that  of  Theocritus,  a  Sicilian 
poet,  who  wrote  at  Alexandria  under  Ptolemy  Philadelphus.  His 
rustic  idyls  are  charming  pictures  of  Sicilian  pastoral  life. 

207.  Conclusion :  Graeco-Roman  Writers.  After  the  Roman 
conquest  of  Greece,  the  center  of  Greek  literary  activity  shifted 
from  Alexandria  to  Rome.  Hence  Greek  literature  now  passes 
into  what  is  known  as  its  Grajco-Roman period  (146B.C.-A.D.  527). 

The  most  noted  historical  writer  of  the  first  part  of  this  period 
was  Polybius  (d.  121B.C.),  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  Roman 
conquests  from  264  to  146  B.C.  His  work,  though  it  has  reached 
us  in  a  sadly  mutilated  state,  is  of  great  worth  ;  for  Polybius  wrote 
of  matters  that  had  become  history  in  his  own  day.  He  had  lived 
to  see  the  greater  part  of  the  world  he  knew  absorbed  by  the 
ever-growing  dominions  of  the  city  of  Rome. 

Plutarch  (b.  about  a. d.  40),  "the  prince  of  biographers,"  will 
always  live  in  literature  as  the  author  of  the  Parallel  Lives,  in 
which,  with  great  wealth  of  illustrative  anecdotes,  he  compares  or 
contrasts  Greek  and  Roman  statesmen  and  soldiers.  One  motive 
that  led  Plutarch  to  write  the  book,  as  we  may  infer  from  the 
partiality  which  he  displays  for  his  Greek  heroes,  was  a  desire 
to  let  the  world  know  that  Hellas  had  once  bred  men  the  peers 
of  the  best  men  that  Rome  had  ever  brought  forth  ;  another  was 
"through  the  example  of  great  men  to  teach  men  to  live  well." 
And  this  last  end  he  attained,  for  his  work  has  been  and  is  a 
great  force  in  the  moral  education  of  the  world. 

References.  Croiset,  A.  and  M.,  An  Abridged  History  of  Greek  Literature. 
\Vkic;ht,  W.  C,  a  S/ioi-t  I/istoty  of  Greek  Literature.  Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  /fistor\> 
of  Classical  Greek  Literature,  2  vols.  Jevons,  F.  B.,  History  of  Greek  Litera- 
ture.   Murray,  G.  G.  A.,  History  of  Ancient  Greek  Histoiy. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
GREEK  PHILOSOPHY  AND  SCIENCE 

208.  The  Seven  Sages:  the  Forerunners.  About  600  b.c. 
there  lived  in  different  parts  of  Hellas  many  persons  of  real  or 
reputed  originality  and  wisdom.  Among  these  were  seven  men, 
called  the  Seven  Sages,  who  held  the  place  of  preeminence.'  To 
them  belongs  the  distinction  of  having  first  aroused  the  Greek 
intellect  to  philosophical  thought.  The  wise  sayings — such  as 
''Know  thyself,"  "Nothing  in  excess," — attributed  to  them  are 
beyond  number. 

While  the  maxims  and  proverbs  ascribed  to  the  sages,  like  the 
so-called  proverbs  of  Solomon,  contain  a  vast  amount  of  practical 
wisdom,  they  do  not  constitute  philosophy  proper,  which  is  a  sys- 
tematic search  for  the  reason  and  causes  of  things.  They  form 
simply  the  introduction  or  prelude  to  Greek  philosophy. 

209.  The  Ionic  Philosophers  ;  Thales.  The  first  Greek  school 
of  philosophy  grew  up  in  the  cities  of  Ionia,  in  Asia  Minor,  where 
almost  all  forms  of  Hellenic  culture  seem  to  have  had  their  be- 
ginnings. The  founder  of  the  school  was  Thales  of  Miletus  (born 
about  640  B.C.),  the  Father  of  Greek  Philosophy. 

Thales  visited  Egypt,  and  it  is  probable  that  what  he  learned 
there  formed  the  basis  of  his  work  in  geometry  and  astronomy. 
He  is  said  to  have  taught  the  Egyptians  how  to  measure  the  height 
of  the  pyramids  by  means  of  their  shadows.  He  is  also  credited 
with  having  foretold  an  eclipse  of  the  sun — a  very  great  scien- 
tific achievement. 

210.  Pythagoras.  Pythagoras  (about  580-500  b.c.)  was  born 
on  the  island  of  Samos,  whence  his  title  of  the  "Samian  Sage." 

>  As  in  the  case  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world,  ancient  writers  were  not  always 
agreed  as  to  what  names  should  be  accorded  the  honor  of  enrollment  in  the  sacred 
number.  Thales,  .Solon,  I'eriander,  Cleoiiulus,  Chilo,  Bias,  and  I'itt.icus  are,  however, 
usually  reckoned  as  the  Seven  Wise  Men. 

■34 


§211]  ANAXAGORAS  135 

The  most  of  his  later  years  were  passed  at  Croton,  in  southern 
Italy,  where  he  became  the  founder  of  a  celebrated  brotherhood,  or 
association.  Legend  tells  how  his  pupils  in  debate  used  no  other 
argument  than  the  words  Ipse  dixit  ("he  himself  said  so").  It  is 
to  Pythagoras,  according  to  the  legend,  that  we  are  indebted 
for  the  word  philosopher.  Being  asked  of  what  he  was  master, 
he  replied  that  he  was  simply  a  "philosopher,"  that  is,  a  "lover 
of  wisdom." 

In  astronomy  the  Pythagoreans  held  views  which  anticipated  by 
two  thousand  years  those  of  Copernicus.  They  taught  that  the 
earth  is  a  sphere,  and  that  it,  together  with  the  other  planets, 
revolves  about  a  central  globe  of  fire,  "the  hearth,  or  altar,  of  the 
universe." 

211.  Anaxagoras.  Anaxagoras  (about  500-427  B.C.)  was  the 
first  Greek  philosopher  who  made  Mind,  instead  of  necessity  or 
chance,  the  arranging  and  harmonizing  force  of  the  universe. 
"  Reason  rules  the  world "  was  his  first  maxim.  In  the  views  he 
held  of  the  universe  in  general  Anaxagoras  was  far  in  advance  of 
his  age.  He  taught  that  the  sun  was  not  a  god,  but  a  glowing 
rock,  as  large,  probably  as  the  Peloponnesus.  He  suffered  the  fate 
of  Galileo  in  a  later  age ;  he  was  charged  with  impiety  and  exiled. 
Yet  this  did  not  disturb  the  serenity  of  his  mind.  In  banishment 
he  said,  "It  is  not  I  who  have  lost  the  Athenians,  but  the  Athe- 
nians who  have  lost  me." 

212.  The  Sophists.  The  Sophists  were  a  class  of  philosophers 
or  teachers  who  gave  instruction  in  rhetoric  and  the  art  of  dispu- 
tation. They  traveled  about  from  city  to  city,  and  contrary  to 
the  custom  of  the  Greek  philosophers  took  fees  from  their  pupils. 
They  were  in  general  teachers  of  superficial  knowledge,  who  cared 
more  for  the  dress  in  which  the  thought  was  arrayed  than  for  the 
thought  itself.  The  better  philosophers  of  the  time  despised  them, 
and  applied  to  them  many  harsh  epithets,  taunting  them  with 
selling  wisdom  and  accusing  them  of  boasting  that  they  could 
"make  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason."  But  there  were 
those  among  the  Sophists  who  taught  a  true  philosophy  of  life  and 
whose  good  influence  was  great  and  lasting. 


136 


GREEK  PHILOSOPHY  AND  SCIENCE 


[§213 


213.  Socrates.  Volumes  would  not  contain  all  that  would 
be  both  instructive  and  interesting  respecting  the  teachings  and 
speculations  of  the  three  great  philosophers,  Socrates,  Plato,  and 
Aristotle.  We  can,  however,  accord  to  each  only  a  few  words. 
Of  these  three  eminent  thinkers,  Socrates  (469-399  B.C.)  has  the 
firmest  hold  upon  the  affections  of  the  world. 

Nature,  while  generous  to  Socrates  in  the  gifts  of  soul,  was  un- 
kind to  him  in  the  matter  of  his  person.  His  face  was  ugly  as  a 
satyr's  so  that  he  invited  the  shafts  of  the 
comic  poets  of  his  time.  He  loved  to  gather 
a  little  circle  about  him  in  the  Agora  or  in 
the  streets,  and  then  draw  out  his  listeners 
by  a  series  of  ingenious  questions.  His 
method  was  so  peculiar  to  himself  that  it 
has  received  the  designation  of  the  "Socra- 
tic  dialogue."  He  has  very  happily  been 
called  an  educator,  as  opposed  to  an  instruc- 
tor. Among  the  young  men  of  his  time 
Socrates  found  many  devoted  pupils. 

This  great  philosopher  believed  that  the 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,  his  favo- 
rite maxim  being"  Know  thyself."  He  taught 
one  of  the  purest  systems  of  morals  that 
the  world  had  yet  known,  one  which  has  been  surpassed  only  by 
the  precepts  of  the  Great  Teacher.  He  believed  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  and  in  a  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe.  Of  his  prose- 
cution and  condemnation  to  death  on  the  charge  of  impiety,  and 
of  his  last  hours  with  his  devoted  disciples,  we  have  already  spoken 
(sect.  163). 

214.  Plato.  Plato  (427-347  b.c),  "the  broad-browed,"  was 
a  philosopher  of  noble  birth,  before  whom  in  youth  opened  a 
brilliant  career  in  the  world  of  Greek  affairs;  but,  coming  under 
the  influence  of  Socrates,  he  resolved  to  give  up  all  his  prospects 
in  politics  and  devote  himself  to  philosophy.  Upon  the  condem- 
nation and  death  of  his  master  he  went  into  voluntary  exile.  He 
finally  returned  to  Athens  and  established  a  school  of  philosophy 


Fig.  55.    Socrates 

(National    Museum, 

Naples) 


§215]  ARISTOTLE  137 

in  the  Academy.  Here,  amid  the  disciples  that  thronged  to  his 
lectures,  he  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  long  life  laboring  inces- 
santly upon  the  great  works  that  bear  his  name. 

Plato  imitated  in  his  writings  Socrates'  method  in  conversation. 
The  discourse  is  carried  on  by  questions  and  answers,  hence  the 
term  Dialogues  that  attaches  to  his  works.  He  attributes  to  his 
master,  Socrates,  much  of  the  philosophy  that  he  teaches ;  yet  his 
writings  are  all  deeply  tinged  with  his  own  genius  and  thought. 
In  the  Republic  Plato  portrays  his  conception  of  an  ideal  state. 
The  PhcBdo  is  a  record  of  the  last  conversation  of  Socrates  with 
his  disciples, — an  immortal  argument  for  the  immortality  of  the 
soul. 

Plato  believed  not  only  in  a  future  life  (postexistence)  but 
also  in  preexistence ;  teaching  that  the  ideas  of  reason,  or  our 
intuitions,  are  reminiscences  of  a  past  experience.^  Plato's  doc- 
trines have  exerted  a  profound  influence  upon  all  schools  of 
thought  and  philosophies  since  his  day.  In  some  of  his  precepts 
he  made  a  close  approach  to  the  teachings  of  Christianity.  "We 
ought  to  become  like  God,"  he  said,  "as  far  as  this  is  possible  ;  and 
to  become  like  him  is  to  become  holy  and  just  and  wise." 

215.  Aristotle.  As  Socrates  was  surpassed  by  his  pupil  Plato, 
so  in  turn  was  Plato  excelled  by  his  disciple  Aristotle  (384- 
322  B.C.),  "the  master  of  those  who  know."  In  him  the  philo- 
sophical genius  of  the  Hellenic  intellect  reached  its  culmination. 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  all  the  ages  since  his  time  have  pro- 
duced so  profound  and  powerful  an  intellect  as  his.  He  was  born 
in  the  Macedonian  city  of  Stagira,  and  hence  is  frequently  called 
"the  Stagirite." 

After  studying  for  twenty  years  in  the  school  of  Plato,  Aristotle 
accepted  the  invitation  of  Philip  II  of  Macedon  to  become  the 
preceptor  of  his  son,  the  young  prince  Alexander  (sect.  170).    In 

1  In  the  following  lines  from  Wordsworth  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  Plato's  doctrine 
of  preexistence : 

Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting ;  Not  in  entire  forgetfulness, 

The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  star,  And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 

Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting,  But  trailing  clouds  of  glory,  do  we  come 

And  Cometh  from  afar :  From  t^od,  who  is  our  home. 

Oi/e  on  liiitnortality 


138 


GREEK  rHlLOSOPHY  AND  SCIENCE 


[§216 


after  years  Alexander  became  the  liberal  patron  of  his  tutor,  and, 
besides  giving  him  large  sums  of  money,  encouraged  and  aided 
him  in  his  scientific  studies  by  causing  to  be  sent  to  him  collections 
of  plants  and  animals  gathered  on  his  distant  expeditions. 

Among  the  productions  of  Aristotle  are  works  on  the  natural 
history  of  animals,  on  rhetoric,  logic,  poetry,  morals,  politics, 

and  physics.  For  centuries  his 
works  were  studied  and  copied  and 
commented  upon  by  both  European 
and  Asiatic  scholars,  in  the  schools 
of  Athens  and  Rome,  of  Alexan- 
dria and  Constantinople.  Until  the 
time  of  Bacon  in  England, for  nearly 
two  thousand  years,  Aristotle  ruled 
over  the  realm  of  mind  with  a  des- 
potic sway.  All  teachers  and  phi- 
losophers acknowledged  him  as  their 
guide  and  master. 

216.  Zeno  and  the  Stoics.  We 
are  now  approaching  the  period 
when  the  political  life  of  Hellas  was 
failing,  and  was  being  fast  over- 
shadowed by  the  greatness  of  Rome. 
But  the  intellectual  life  of  the  Greek 
race  was  by  no  means  eclipsed  by 
the  calamity  that  ended  its  political  existence.  For  centuries 
after  that  event  the  poets,  scholars,  and  philosophers  of  this 
highly  gifted  people  led  a  brilliant  career  in  the  schools  and  uni- 
versities of  the  Mediterranean  world.  From  among  all  the  phi- 
losophers of  this  long  period  we  select  for  brief  mention  only  two, 
Zeno  and  Epicurus,  who  are  noted  as  founders  of  schools  of 
philosophy  that  exerted  a  vast  influence  upon  both  the  thought 
and  the  conduct  of  many  centuries. 

Zeno,  the  founder  of  the  celebrated  school  of  the  Stoics,  lived 
in  the  third  century  before  our  era  (about  340-265  B.C.).  He 
taught  at  Athens  in  a  public  porch  (in  Greek,  stoa),  from  which 


Fig. 


56.      AlUSTOTLE. 

Palace,  Rome) 


(Spada 


§217]  EPICURUS  AND  THE  EPICUREANS  139 

circumstance  comes  the  name  applied  to  his  disciples.'^  The  Stoics 
inculcated  virtue  for  its  own  sake.  They  believed — and  it  would 
be  difficult  to  frame  a  better  creed — that  "man's  chief  business 
here  is  to  do  his  duty."  They  schooled  themselves  to  bear  with 
composure  any  lot  that  destiny  might  appoint.  Any  sign  of 
emotion  on  account  of  calamity  was  considered  unmanly.  Thus 
a  certain  Stoic,  when  told  of  the  sudden  death  of  his  son,  is  said 
merely  to  have  remarked,  "Well,  I  never  imagined  that  I  had 
given  life  to  an  immortal." 

This  Stoic  code  did  not  become  a  really  important  factor  in  the 
moral  life  of  the  ancient  world  until  after  its  adoption  by  the  finer 
spirits  among  the  Romans.  It  never  influenced  the  masses,  but 
for  several  centuries  it  gave  moral  support  and  guidance  to  many 
of  the  best  men  of  the  Roman  race,  among  whom  were  several 
emperors.  In  truth.  Stoicism  was  one  of  the  most  helpful  ele- 
ments in  the  rich  legacy  which  Hellas  transmitted  to  Rome. 

217.  Epicurus  and  the  Epicureans.  In  opposition  to  the  Stoics, 
Epicurus  (341-270  B.C.)  taught  that  pleasure  is  the  highest 
good.  He  recommended  virtue,  indeed,  but  only  as  a  means  for 
the  attainment  of  pleasure ;  whereas  the  Stoics  made  virtue  an 
end  in  itself.  In  other  words,  Epicurus  said,  "  Be  virtuous,  because 
virtue  will  bring  you  the  greatest  amount  of  happiness";  Zeno 
said,  "  Be  virtuous,  because  you  ought  to  be." 

Epicurus  had  many  followers  in  Greece,  and  his  doctrines  were 
eagerly  embraced  by  many  among  the  Romans  during  the  later 
corrupt  period  of  the  Empire.  Many  of  these  disciples  carried  the 
doctrines  of  their  master  to  an  excess  that  he  himself  would  have 
been  the  first  to  condemn.  Their  whole  philosophy  was  expressed 
in  the  proverb,  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  tomorrow  we  die." 

218.  Mathematics ;  Euclid  and  Archimedes.  Alexandria,  in 
Egypt,  became  the  seat  of  the  most  celebrated  school  of  mathe- 
matics of  antiquity.  Here,  under  Ptolemy  Soter,  flourished  Euclid, 
the  great  geometer,  whose  work  forms  the  basis  of  the  science  of 

1  The  Stoical  philosophy  was  the  outf;;rowth,  in  part  at  least,  of  that  of  the  Cynics. 
The  typical  representative  of  this  sect  is  found  in  Diogenes,  who  lived,  so  the  story 
goes,  in  a  wine  cask  and  went  about  Athens  by  daylight  with  a  lantern,  in  search, 
as  he  said,  of  a  )?iiin.   The  Cynics  were  simply  a  race  of  pagan  hermits. 


140  GREEK  PHILOSOPHY  AND  SCIENCE         [§  219 

geometry  as  taught  in  our  schools  today.  Ptolemy  himself  was 
his  pupil.  The  royal  student,  however,  seems  to  have  disliked  the 
severe  application  required  to  master  the  problems  of  Euclid,  and 
asked  his  teacher  if  there  was  not  some  easier  way.  Euclid  replied, 
"There  is  no  royal  road  to  geometry."  In  the  third  century  B.C., 
Syracuse,  in  Sicily,  was  the  home  of  Archimedes,  the  greatest 
mathematician  that  the  Grecian  world  produced. 

219.  Astronomy  and  Geography.  Among  ancient  Greek 
astronomers  and  geographers  the  names  of  Aristarchus  and  Clau- 
dius Ptolemy  are  best  known.  Aristarchus  of  Samos,  who  lived 
in  the  third  century  B.C.,  held  that  the  earth  revolves  about  the 
sun  as  a  fixed  center,  and  rotates  on  its  own  axis.  He  was  the 
Greek  Copernicus.  But  his  theory  was  rejected  by  his  contem- 
poraries and  successors. 

Claudius  Ptolemy  lived  in  Egypt  about  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  after  Christ.  He  compiled  a  vast  work  which  preserved 
and  transmitted  to  later  times  almost  all  the  knowledge  of  the 
ancient  world  on  astronomical  and  geographical  subjects.  In  this 
way  it  has  happened  that  his  name  has  become  attached  to  vari- 
ous doctrines  and  views  respecting  the  universe,  though  these 
probably  were  not  originated  by  him.  The  phrase  "Ptolemaic 
System,"  however,  links  his  name  inseparably,  whether  the  honor 
be  fairly  his  or  not,  with  that  conception  of  the  solar  system  set 
forth  in  his  works,  which  continued  to  be  the  received  theory  from 
his  time  until  Copernicus,  fourteen  centuries  later. 

Ptolemy  combated  the  theory  of  Aristarchus  in  regard  to  the 
rotation  and  revolution  of  the  earth ;  yet  he  believed  the  earth 
to  be  a  globe,  and  supported  this  view  by  exactly  the  same 
arguments  that  we  today  use  to  prove  the  doctrine. 

References.  Grote,  G.  (ten-volume  ed.),  vol.  iv,  pp.  65-94  (Ionic  philoso- 
phers and  Pythagoras) ;  v6l.  vii,  pp.  32-172  (the  Sophists  and  Socrates).  Burt, 
B.  C,  A  Brief  History  of  Greek  Philosophy.  Mavcjr,  J.  B.,  Sketeh  of  Ancient 
Philosophy.  Davidson,  T.,  The  Education  of  the  Greek  People,  chap,  v  (on  the 
teachings  of  Socrates).  Lkonaro,  W.  E.,  Socrates:  Master  of  Life.  Zem.f.r, 
E.,  Ihe  Stoics,  Epicureans,  and  Sceptics.  All  these  works,  except  Leonard's 
Socrates,  are  for  the  teacher  and  the  advanced  student. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  THE  GREEKS 

220.  Education.  Education  at  Sparta,  where  it  was  chiefly 
gymnastic,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  state  affair ;  but  at  Athens  and 
throughout  Greece  generally,  the  youth  were  trained  in  private 
schools.  These  were 
of  all  grades,  rang- 
ing from  those  kept 
by  the  most  obscure 
teachers,  who  gath- 
ered their  pupils  in 
some  recess  of  the 
street,  to  those  es- 
tablished in  the 
Athenian  Academy 
and  the  Lyceum  by 
such  philosophers  as 
Plato  and  Aristotle. 

It  was  only  the 
boys  who  received 
education.  In  the 
nursery  the  boy  was  taught  the  beautiful  myths  and  stories 
of  the  national  mythology  and  religion.^  At  about  seven  he 
entered  school,   being   led   to   and   from   the  place   of   training 

1  Infanticide  was  almost  universally  practiced  throughout  Greece.  (At  Thebes, 
however,  the  exposure  of  children  was  prohibited  by  severe  laws.)  Such  philosophers 
as  Plato  and  Aristotle  saw  nothing  in  the  custom  to  condemn.  Among  the  -Spartans,  as 
we  have  already  learned,  the  state  determined  what  infants  might  be  preserved,  con- 
demning the  weakly  or  ill-formed  to  be  cast  out  to  die.  At  Athens  and  in  other  states 
the  right  to  expose  his  child  was  given  to  the  father.  The  infant  was  abandoned  in  some 
desert  place,  or  left  in  some  frequented  spot  in  the  hope  that  it  might  be  picked  up  and 
cared  for.  Greek  literature,  like  that  of  every  other  people  of  antiquity,  is  filled  with 
stories  and  dramas  all  turning  upon  points  afforded  by  this  common  practice. 

141 


Fig.  57.  a  Greek  School.  (From  a  vase  paint- 
ing of  the  fifth  century  B.C.) 

The  master  on  the  left  is  teaching  the  boy  seated  in  front 
of  him  to  play  the  lyre  ;  the  master  in  the  center  of  the 
picture  is  giving  instruction  in  reading  or  in  recitation  to 
the  boy  standing  before  him.  The  man  seated  and  lean- 
ing on  a  staff  is  probably  the  pedagogue  who  has  brought 
the  boys  to  the  school 


142 


SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  THE  GREEKS 


[§220 


by  an  old  slave,  who  bore  the  name  of  pedagogue,  which  in 
Greek  means  a  guide  or  leader  of  boys,  not  a  teacher.  His 
studies  were  grammar,  music  and  gymnastics,  the  aim  of  the 
course  being  to  secure  a  symmetrical  development  of  mind 
and  body  alike. 

Grammar  included  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic ;  music, 
which  embraced  a  wide  range  of  mental  accomplishments,  trained 
the  boy  to  appreciate  the  masterpieces  of 
the  great  poets,  to  contribute  his  part 
to  the  musical  diversions  of  private  enter- 
tainments, and  to  join  in  the  sacred  cho- 
ruses and  in  the  pa^an  of  the  battlefield. 
The  exercises  of  the  palestrae  and  the  gym- 
nasia trained  him  for  the  Olympic  contests, 
or  for  those  sterner  hand-to-hand  battle 
struggles  in  which  so  much  depended  upon 
personal  strength  and  dexterity. 

Upon  reaching  maturity  the  youth  was 
enrolled  in  the  list  of  citizens.  But  his 
graduation  from  school  was  his  '"  com- 
mencement" in  a  much  more  real  sense 
than  with  the  average  modern  graduate. 
Never  was  there  a  people  besides  the 
Greeks  whose  daily  life  was  so  emphati- 
cally a  discipline  in  liberal  culture.  The 
schools  of  the  philosophers,  the  debates 
of  the  popular  assembly,  the  practice  of  the  law  courts,  the 
masterpieces  of  a  divine  art,  the  religious  processions,  the  Pan- 
hellenic  games, —  all  these  were  splendid  educational  agencies, 
which  produced  and  maintained  a  standard  of  average  intelli- 
gence and  culture  among  the  citizens  of  the  Greek  cities  that 
probably  has  never  been  attained  among  any  other  people  on 
the  earth.  Freeman,  quoted  approvingly  by  Mahaffy,  says 
that  "the  average  intelligence  of  the  assembled  Athenian  citi- 
zens was  higher  than  that  of  our  [the  English]  House  of 
Commons." 


Fk;.     58.       PF.DAGOCiUE 

AND  Ciiii.nRKX.  (Terra- 
cotta group  from  Tana- 
gra ;  Louvre,  Paris) 


§  221]  THEATRICAL  ENTERTAINMENTS  143 

221.  Social  Position  of  Woman.  Although  there  are  in  Greek 
literature  some  exquisitely  beautiful  portraitures  of  ideal  woman- 
hood, still  the  general  tone  of  the  literature  betrays  a  deep  con- 
tempt for  woman.  Thucydides  quotes  with  seeming  approval  the 
Greek  proverb,  "That  woman  is  best  who  is  least  spoken  of 
among  men,  whether  for  good  or  for  evil." 

This  unworthy  conception  of  woman  of  course  consigned  her 
to  a  narrow  and  inferior  place  in  the  Greek  home.  Her  position 
may  be  defined  as  being  about  halfway  between  oriental  seclu- 
sion and  modern  or  Western  freedom.  Her  main  duties  were  to 
cook  and  spin,  and  to  oversee  the  domestic  slaves,  of  whom  she 
herself  was  practically  one.  In  the  fashionable  society  of  Ionian 
cities  she  was  seldom  allowed  to  appear  in  public,  or  to  meet, 
even  in  her  own  house,  the  male  friends  of  her  husband.  In 
Sparta,  however,  and  in  Dorian  states  generally,  she  was  accorded 
much  more  freedom,  and  was  a  really  important  factor  in  society. 

222.  Theatrical  Entertainments.  Among  the  ancient  Greeks 
the  theater  was  a  state  establishment,  "a  part  of  the  constitution." 
This  arose  from  the  religious  origin  and  character  of  the  drama 
(sect.  201),  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  popular  worship  being 
the  care  and  concern  of  the  state.  Theatrical  performances,  being 
religious  acts,  were  presented  only  during  religious  festivals, — 
certain  festivals  observed  in  honor  of  Dionysus, —  and  were  at- 
tended by  all  classes,  rich  and  poor,  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  women,  however,  were,  it  would  seem,  permitted  to  witness 
tragedies  only ;  the  comic  stage  was  too  gross  to  allow  of  their 
presence.  The  spectators  sat  under  the  open  sky ;  and  the  pieces 
followed  one  after  the  other  in  close  succession  from  early  morning 
till  nightfall. 

While  the  better  class  of  actors  were  highly  honored,  ordinary 
players  were  held  in  very  low  esteem,  in  which  matter  the  Greek 
stage  presents  a  parallel  to  that  of  England  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. And  as  in  the  Elizabethan  age  the  writers  of  plays  were 
frequently  also  the  performers,  so  in  Greece,  particularly  during 
the  early  period  of  the  drama,  the  author  often  became  an  actor — 
.^schylus  and  Sophocles  both  assumed  this  role — and  assisted 


144 


SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  THE  GREEKS 


[§223 


in  the  presentation  of  his  own  pieces.  Still  another  parallel  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  female  parts  in  the  Greek  dramas,  as 
in  the  early  English  theater,  were  taken  by  men. 

The  theater  exerted  a  great  influence  upon  Greek  life.  It  per- 
formed for  ancient  Greek  society  somewhat  the  same  service  as 
that  rendered  to  modern  society  by  the  pulpit  and  the  press. 
During  the  best  days  of  Hellas  the  frequent  rehearsal  upon  the 
stage  of  the  chief  incidents  in  the  lives  of  the  gods  and  heroes 
served  to  deepen  and  strengthen  the  religious  faith  of  the  people; 

and,  in  later  times, 
when  with  Mace- 
donian supremacy 
the  days  of  de- 
cline came,  the  stage 
was  one  of  the 
chief  agents  in  the 
diffusion  of  Greek 
thought  and  literary 
culture  throughout 
the  Hellenistic  world 
of. the  East. 
223.  Banquets  and  Symposia.  Banquets  and  drinking  parties 
among  the  Greeks  possessed  some  features  which  set  them  apart 
from  similar  entertainments  among  other  people.  The  banquet 
proper  was  partaken,  in  later  times,  by  the  guests  in  a  reclining 
position,  upon  couches  or  divans  arranged  about  the  table  in  the 
oriental  manner.  After  the  usual  courses  a  libation  was  poured  out 
and  a  hymn  sung  in  honor  of  the  gods,  and  then  followed  that 
characteristic  part  of  the  entertainment  known  as  the  "  symposium." 
The  symposium  was  "  the  intellectual  side  of  the  feast."  It  con- 
sisted of  general  conversation,  riddles,  and  convivial  songs  rendered 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  lyre  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 
Generally  professional  singers  and  musicians,  dancing  girls,  jugglers, 
and  jesters  were  called  in  to  contribute  to  the  merrymaking.  The 
symposium  must  at  times,  when  the  conversation  was  sustained  by 
such  persons  as  Socrates  and  Aristophanes,  have  been  "a  feast 


Fig.  59.   A  Banquet  Scene 


§  224]  SLAVERY  145 

of  reason  and  a  flow  of  soul"  indeed.  Xenophon  in  his  Banquet 
and  Plato  in  his  Symposium  have  each  left  us  a  striking  report  of 
such  an  entertainment. 

224.  Slavery.  There  is  a  dark  side  to  Greek  life.  Hellenic  art, 
culture,  refinement, — ''these  good  things  were  planted,  like  ex- 
quisite exotic  flowers,  upon  the  black,  rank  soil  of  slavery." 

Slaves  were  very  numerous  in  Greece.  No  exact  estimate  can 
be  made  of  their  number.  Almost  every  freeman  was  a  slave  owner. 
It  was  accounted  a  real  hardship  to  have  to  get  along  with  less 
than  half  a  dozen  slaves.  The  slave  class  was  formed  in  various 
ways.  In  the  prehistoric  period  the  fortunes  of  war  had  brought 
the  entire  population  of  whole  provinces  into  a  servile  condition, 
as  in  certain  parts  of  the  Peloponnesus.  During  later  times  the 
ordinary  captives  of  war  still  further  augmented  the  ranks  of  these 
unfortunates.  Their  number  was  also  largely  added  to  by  the 
slave  traffic  carried  on  with  the  barbarian  peoples  of  Asia.  Crim- 
inals and  debtors,  too,  were  often  condemned  to  servitude ;  while 
foundlings  were  usually  brought  up  as  slaves. 

The  relation  of  master  and  slave  was  regarded  by  the  ordinary 
Greek  as  a  perfectly  natural  one.  Barbarians  in  his  view  were 
slaves  by  nature ;  that  is,  their  inferiority  in  soul  was  such  that 
it  was  manifest  nature  intended  them  to  be  slaves,  just  as  she 
intended  domestic  animals  to  be  the  servants  of  man. 

In  general,  Greek  slaves  were  not  treated  harshly,  judging  their 
treatment  by  the  standard  of  humanity  that  prevailed  in  antiquity. 
Some  held  places  of  honor  in  the  family,  and  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence and  even  the  friendship  of  their  master. 

References.  Blumner,  H.,  T^e  Home  Life  of  the  Ancieut  Greeks.  Davidson, 
T.,  The  Ei.iucation  of  the  Greek  People  and  Ancietit  Edncatiottal  Ideals.  Walden, 
J.  W.  H.,  The  Uttiversities  of  Ancient  Greece.  Mahaffy,  J.  B.,  Social  Life  in 
Greece ;  Old  Greek  Education  ;  Greek  Life  and  Thought  (selected  chapters) ;  and 
Old  Greek  Life.  Felton,  C.  C,  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modem,  vol.  i,  pp.  271-51 1 
(pictures  various  aspects  of  the  life  of  Greece).  Guhl,  E.,  and  Koner,  W., 
Life  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  (first  part).  GULICK,  C.  B.,  Life  of  the  Ancient 
Greeks.    Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athe?ts. 


DIVISION  III.    ROME 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
ITALY  AND  ITS  EARLY  INHABITANTS 

225.  Divisions  of  the  Italian  Peninsula.  The  Italian  peninsula 
is  generally  conceived  as  consisting  of  three  sections — Northern, 
Central,  and  Southern  Italy.  The  first  comprises  the  great  basin  of 
the  river  Po  (Padus),  lying  between  the  Alps  and  the  Apennines. 
In  ancient  times  this  part  of  Italy  included  three  districts,  namely, 
Liguria,  Gallia  Cisalpina,  and  Venetia.  Liguria  embraced  the 
southwestern  and  Venetia  the  northeastern  part  of  Northern 
Italy.  Gallia  Cisalpina  lay  between  these  two  districts,  occupy- 
ing the  finest  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Po.  It  received  its 
name,  which  means  "  Gaul  on  this  [the  Italian]  side  of  the  Alps," 
from  the  Gallic  tribes  that  about  the  fifth  century  before  our 
era  found  their  way  over  the  mountains  and  settled  upon  these 
rich  lands. 

The  countries  of  Central  Italy  were  Etruria,  Latium,  and  Cam- 
pania, facing  the  Western,  or  Tyrrhenian,  Sea ;  Umbria  and 
Ficenum,  looking  out  over  the  Eastern,  or  Adriatic,  Sea ;  and 
Samnium  and  the  country  of  the  Sabines,  occupying  the  rough 
mountain  districts  of  the  Apennines. 

Southern  Italy  comprised  the  ancient  districts  of  Apulia,  Lucania, 
Calabria,  and  Bruttium.  Cahibria'  formed  the  "heel,"  and  Brut- 
tium  the  "toe,"  of  the  bootlike  peninsula.  The  coast  region  of 
Southern  Italy,  as  we  have  already  learned,  was  called  Magna 
Gra^cia,  or  "Great  Greece,"  on  account  of  the  number  and  im- 
portance of  the  Greek  cities  that  during  the  period  of  Hellenic 
supremacy  were  established  on  these  shores. 

1  During  the  Middle  Ages  this  name  was  transferred  to  the  toe  of  the  peninsula, 
and  this  forms  the  Calabria  of  today. 

146 


§226]  GEOGRAPHICAL  FEATURES  147 

The  large  island  of  Sicily,  lying  just  off  the  mainland  on  the 
south,  may  be  regarded  simply  as  a  detached  fragment  of  Italy, 
so  intimately  has  its  history  been  connected  with  that  of  the 
peninsula. 

226.  Mountains,  Rivers,  and  Harbors.  Italy,  like  the  other 
two  peninsulas  of  southern  Europe,- — Greece  and  Spain, — has  a 
high  mountain  barrier,  the  Alps,  along  its  northern  frontier.  Cor- 
responding to  the  Pindus  range  in  Greece,  the  Apennines  run  as 
a  great  central  ridge  through  the  peninsula.  Eastward  of  the 
ancient  Latium  they  spread  out  into  broad  uplands,  which  in  early 
times  nourished  a  race  of  hardy  mountaineers,  who  incessantly 
harried  the  territories  of  the  more  civilized  lowlanders  of  Latium 
and  Campania.  Thus  the  physical  conformation  of  this  part  of 
the  peninsula  shaped  large  sections  of  Roman  history,  just  as 
in  the  case  of  Scotland  the  physical  contrast  between  the  north 
and  the  south  was  reflected  for  centuries  in  the  antagonisms  of 
Highlanders  and  Lowlanders. 

Italy  has  only  one  really  great  river,  the  Po,  which  drains  the 
large  northern  plain,  already  mentioned,  lying  between  the  Alps 
and  the  Apennines.  The  streams  running  down  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Apennines  are  short  and  of  little  volume.  Among  the  rivers 
draining  the  western  slopes  of  the  Apennines,  the  one  of  greatest 
historic  interest  is  the  Tiber,  on  the  banks  of  which  Rome  arose. 

The  finest  Italian  harbors,  of  which  that  of  Naples  is  the  most 
celebrated,  are  on  the  western  coast.  The  eastern  coast  is  precipi- 
tous, with  few  good  havens.  Italy  thus  faces  the  west.  What 
makes  it  important  for  us  to  notice  this  circumstance  is  the  fact 
that  Greece  faces  the  east,  and  that  thus  these  two  peninsulas,  as 
the  historian  Mommsen  expresses  it,  turn  their  backs  to  each  other. 
This  brought  it  about  that  Rome  and  the  cities  of  Greece  had 
almost  no  dealings  with  one  another  for  many  centuries. 

227.  Early  Inhabitants  of  Italy :  the  Etruscans,  the  Greeks, 
and  the  Italians.  There  were  in  early  historic  times  three  chief 
races  in  Italy — the  Etruscans,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Italians.  The 
Etruscans  and  the  Italians  had  found  their  way  into  the  peninsula 
in  prehistoric  times ;  the  Greeks  had  come  later. 


148 


ITALY  AND  ITS  EARLY  INHABITANTS       [§  227 


The  Etruscans,  a  wealthy  and  cultured  seafaring  people  of 
uncertain  race  and  origin,  dwelt  in  Etruria,  now  called  Tuscany 
after  them.^  They  seem  to  have  come  into  Italy  from  the  east 
by  way  of  the  sea.  Before  the  rise  of  the  Roman  people  they 
were  the  leading  race  in  the  peninsula.    Certain  elements  in  their 

culture  lead  us  to  believe  that 
they  had  learned  much  from  the 
cities  of  Magna  Graecia.  The 
Etruscans  in  their  turn  became 
the  teachers  of  the  early  Romans 
and  imparted  to  them  certain 
elements  of  civilization,  includ- 
ing military  usages,  hints  in  the 
art  of  building,  and  various  re- 
ligious ideas  and  rites. 

With  the  Greek  cities  in  South- 
ern Italy  and  in  Sicily  we  have 
already  formed  an  acquaintance. 
Through  themedium  of  thesecul- 
tured  communities  the  Romans 
were  taught  the  use  of  letters 
and  given  valuable  suggestions 
in  matters  of  law  and  constitu- 
tional government. 
The  Italians,  peoples  of  Indo-European  speech,  embraced  many 
tribes  or  communities  (Latins,  Umbrians,  Sabines,  Samnites,  etc.) 
that  occupied  nearly  all  Central  and  a  considerable  part  of  South- 
ern Italy ,^  They  were  kin  to  the  Greeks  and  brought  with  them 
into  the  peninsula,  where  they  probably  mixed  with  an  aboriginal 
population,  those  customs,  manners,  beliefs,  and  institutions  that 

1  In  early  times  they  had  settlements  in  Northern  Italy  and  in  Campania. 

2  This  interesting  memorial  of  Etruscan  art  was  acquired  by  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  New  ^'ork  City  at  a  cost  of  ^48,000.  It  was  found  in  an  ancient  Etruscan 
cemetery  (u)oi).  Almost  every  part  of  the  chariot,  including  the  wheels,  was  sheathed 
in  figured  bronze.    The  relic  probably  dates  from  the  seventh  century  11.  c:. 

*  Notice  carefully  the  large  area  covered  by  the  Italian  color  on  the  accompanying 
map.  The  Italian  race  formed  the  best  part  of  the  material  out  of  which  the  real 
Roman  nation  was  formed. 


Fio.  60.  An  Etruscan  Chakiot 2 
(From  a  photograph) 


§227]  EARLY  INHABITANTS  OF  ITALY  149 

formed  the  common  possession  of  the  Indo-European  peoples. 
Their  life  was  for  the  most  part  that  of  shepherds  and  farmers. 

The  most  important  of  the  Italian  peoples  were  the  Latins,  who 
dwelt  in  Latium.  According  to  tradition  there  were  in  all  Latium 
in  prehistoric  times  thirty  towns  or  petty  city-states,  like  those  of 
early  Greece.  These  had  formed  an  alliance  among  themselves 
known  as  the  Latin  League.  At  the  dawn  of  history  the  leadership 
in  this  confederacy  was  held  by  Rome,  which  was  situated  on  a 
cluster  of  low  hills  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber,  about  fifteen 
miles  from  the  sea.  This  little  fortress  town  was  doubtless  in- 
tended as  an  outpost  to  protect  the  northern  frontier  of  Latium 
against  the  Etruscans,  the  most  powerful  and  aggressive  neighbors 
of  the  Latin  people. 

The  city  of  Rome,  which  was  destined  to  play  such  a  great  part  in 
history,  had  been  formed  by  the  union  in  prehistoric  times  of  three 
or  more  settlements,  the  dwellings  of  which  were  upon  the  slopes 
or  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  just  mentioned.  Its  location  was  for- 
tunate. Its  distance  from  the  sea  protected  it  against  the  dep- 
redations of  the  pirates  who  in  early  times  swarmed  in  the 
Mediterranean,  while  its  location  on  the  chief  stream  of  Cen- 
tral Italy  naturally  made  it  the  center  of  the  lucrative  trade  of  a 
wide  reach  of  inland  territory  bordering  upon  the  Tiber  and  its 
tributaries. 

Concerning  the  government  and  the  religious  and  social  arrange- 
ments of  the  Roman  community,  and  concerning  the  fortunes  of 
the  city  of  Rome  under  its  early  kings,  we  shall  give  a  brief 
account  in  the  next  chapter. 

References.  Mommsen,  T.,  vol.  i,  chaps,  i,  ii.  Freeman,  E.  A.,  Historical 
Geoip-apky  of  Europe,  vol.  i  (text),  pp.  7-9,  43-49.  T(JZER,  II.  F.,  Classical 
Geoi^rap/iv,  chaps,  ix,  x.  Dennis,  G.,  T/te  Cities  and  Cemeteries  of  Etniiia, 
vol.  i,  introduction  (the  author  probably  exaggerates  the  debt  which  the  early 
civilization  of  Rome  owed  to  the  preceding  culture  of  Etruria).  Lel.vnd,  C.  G., 
Etriiscan- Roman  Remains. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
ROMAN  INSTITUTIONS;  ROME  UNDER  THE  KINGS 


I.  SOCIETY  AND  GOVERNMENT 

228.  The  Roman  Family  ;  the  Worship  of  Ancestors.  At  the 
base  of  Roman  society  and  forming  its  smallest  unit  was  the  family. 
This  was  a  very  different  group  from  that  which  among  us  bears 
the  same  name.  The  typical  Roman  family  consisted  of  the  father 
{ pater jamilias)  and  mother,  the  sons  together  with  their  wives  and 
sons,  and  the  unmarried  daughters. 

The  most  important  feature  or  element  of  this  family  group  was 
the  unrestrained  authority  of  the  father.  In  early  times  his  power 
over  every  member  of  the  family  was  in  law  absolute,  though  cus- 
tom required  that  in  cases  involving  severe  punishment  he  should 
seek  the  advice  of  a  council  of  near  relatives.  He  could  for  mis- 
conduct sell  a  son  of  mature  years  into  slavery  or  even  put  him 
to  death. 

The  father  was  the  high  priest  of  the  family,  for  the  family  had 
a  common  worship.  This  was  the  cult  of  domestic  divinities  and 
the  spirits  of  ancestors.  These  latter  were  believed  to  linger  near 
the  old  hearth.  If  provided  with  frequent  offerings  of  meat  and 
drink,  they  would,  it  was  thought,  watch  over  the  living  members 
of  the  family  and  aid  and  prosper  them  in  their  daily  work  and 
in  all  their  undertakings.    If  they  were  neglected,  however,  these 

150 


§229]  THE  FAMILY  IN  ROMAN  HISTORY  151 

spirits  became  restless  and  suffered  pain,  and  in  their  anger  would 
bring  trouble  in  some  form  upon  their  undutiful  kinsmen. 

229.  The  Place  of  the  Family  in  Roman  History.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  overestimate  the  influence  of  the  family  upon  the 
history  and  destiny  of  Rome.  It  was  the  cradle  of  at  least  some 
of  those  splendid  virtues  of  the  early  Romans  that  contributed  so 
much  to  the  strength  and  greatness  of  Rome,  and  that  helped  to 
give  her  the  dominion  of  the  world.  It  was  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  family  that  were  nourished  in  the  Roman  youth  the  virtues  of 
obedience,  of  deference  to  authority,  and  of  submission  to  law  and 
custom.  When  the  youth  became  a  citizen,  obedience  to  magis- 
trates and  respect  for  law  were  with  him  an  instinct  and  indeed 
almost  a  religion.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  exercise  of  the 
parental  authority  in  the  family  taught  the  Roman  how  to  com- 
mand as  well  as  how  to  obey — how  to  exercise  authority  with 
wisdom,  moderation,  and  justice, 

230.  Dependents  of  the  Family :  Clients  and  Slaves.  Besides 
those  members  constituting  the  family  proper  there  were  attached 
to  it  usually  a  number  of  dependents.  These  were  the  clients  and 
the  slaves.  The  client  was  a  person  standing  in  a  semi-servile  rela- 
tion to  the  head  of  the  family,  who  was  called  his  patron.  The 
class  of  clients  was  probably  made  up  largely  of  homeless  refugees 
or  strangers  from  other  cities,  or  of  freed  slaves  dwelling  in  their 
former  master's  house.  They  were  free  to  engage  in  business  at 
Rome  and  to  accumulate  property,  though  whatever  they  gathered 
was  legally  the  property  of  the  patron. 

The  duty  of  the  patron  was,  in  general,  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  his  client,  especially  to  represent  him  before  the  legal  tribunals. 
The  duty  of  the  client,  on  the  other  hand,  was  faithfulness  to  his 
patron,  and  the  making  of  contributions  of  money  to  aid  him  in 
meeting  unusual  expenses. 

The  slaves  constituted  merely  a  part  of  the  family  property. 
There  were  only  a  few  slaves  in  the  early  Roman  family,  and  these 
were  held  for  service  chiefly  within  the  home  and  not  in  the  fields. 
It  was  not  until  later  times,  when  luxury  crept  into  Rome,  that 
the  number  of  domestic  slaves  became  excessively  great. 


152  ROM.\N  INSTITUTIONS  [§231 

231.  The  Clan,  the  Curia,  the  Tribe,  and  the  City.  Above 
the  family  stood  the  clan  or  gens.  This  was  probably  in  the  earli- 
est times  simply  the  expanded  family,  the  members  of  which  had 
outgrown  the  remembrance  of  their  exact  relationship.  Yet  they 
all  believed  themselves  to  have  had  a  common  ancestor  and  called 
themselves  by  his  name,  as  the  Fabii,  the  Claudii,  the  Julii,  and 
so  on.    The  gens,  like  the  family,  had  a  common  altar. 

The  next  largest  group  or  division  of  the  community  was  the 
curia.  This  was  the  most  important  political  division  of  the  people 
in  early  Rome.  Levies  for  the  army  were  made  by  curiae,  and  vot- 
ing in  the  primitive  assembly  of  the  people,  as  we  shall  e.xplain 
presently,  was  done  by  these  same  bodies.  There  were  thirty  curiae 
in  primitive  Rome. 

Above  the  curiae  was  the  tribe,  the  largest  subdivision  of  the 
community.  In  early  Rome  there  were  three  tribes,  each  com- 
prising ten  curiae. 

These  several  groups  made  up  the  community  of  early  Rome. 
This  city,  like  the  cities  of  ancient  Greece,  was  a  city-state; 
that  is,  an  independent  sovereign  body  like  a  modern  nation. 
As  such  it  possessed  a  constitution  and  government,  concerning 
which  we  will  next  give  a  short  account. 

232.  The  King  and  the  Senate.  At  the  head  of  the  early 
Roman  state  stood  a  king,  the  father  of  his  people,  holding  essen- 
tially the  same  relation  to  them  that  the  father  of  a  family  held  to 
his  household.  He  was  at  once  ruler  of  the  nation,  commander  of 
the  army,  and  judge  and  high  priest  of  his  people.  He  was  pre- 
ceded by  servants  called  lictors,  each  bearing  a  bundle  of  rods 
(the  fasces)  with  an  ax  bound  therein,  the  symbol  of  his  power 
to  punish  by  flogging  and  by  putting  to  death  (Fig.  63). 

Next  to  the  king  stood  the  Senate,  a  body  composed  of  the 
"'  fathers,"  or  heads  of  the  ancient  clans  of  the  community.  Two 
important  functions  of  the  Senate  were  to  give  counsel  to  the 
king  and  to  cast  the  decisive  vote  on  all  measures  passed  by  the 
assembly  of  citizens. 

233.  The  Popular  Assembly.  The  popular  assembly  (comitia 
curiata)   comprised  all  the  freemen  of   Rome.    The  manner  of 


§234]      THE  RIGHTS  OF  ROMAN  CITIZENSHIP  153 

taking  a  vote  in  this  assembly  should  be  noted,  for  the  usage  here 
was  followed  in  all  the  later  popular  assemblies  of  the  republican 
period.  The  voting  was  not  by  individuals  but  by  curiae ;  that  is, 
each  curia  had  one  vote,  and  the  measure  before  the  body  was 
carried  or  lost  according  as  a  majority  of  the  curiae  voted  for  or 
against  it. 

It  should  be  further  noted  that  this  assembly  was  not  a  repre- 
sentative body,  like  a  modern  legislature,  but  a  primary  assembly  ; 
that  is,  a  meeting  like  a  New  England  town  meeting.  All  of  the 
later  assemblies  at  Rome  were  like  this  primitive  assembly.  The 
Romans  never  learned,  or  at  least  never  employed,  the  principle  of 
representation.  How  important  the  bearing  of  this  was  upon  the 
political  fortunes  of  Rome  we  shall  learn  later. 

234.  The  Rights  of  Roman  Citizenship.  The  rights  of  the 
Roman  citizen  were  divided  into  private  rights  and  public  rights. 
The  chief  private  rights  were  two,  namely,  the  right  of  trade  and 
the  right  to  intermarry  with  Roman  citizens.  The  right  of  trade 
or  commerce  was  the  right  to  acquire,  to  hold,  and  to  bequeath 
property  (both  personal  and  landed)  according  to  the  forms  of  the 
Roman  law.  This  in  the  ancient  city  was  an  important  right  and 
privilege ;  it  was  in  general  denied  to  aliens.  The  right  to  inter- 
marry with  Roman  citizens  was  especially  important,  because 
such  a  marriage  carried  with  it  the  paternal  power  (sect.  228) 
and  other  civil  rights. 

The  three  chief  public  or  political  rights  of  the  Roman  citizen 
were  the  right  of  voting  in  the  public  assemblies,  the  right  of 
holding  office,  and  the  right  of  appeal  from  the  decision  of  a 
magistrate  to  the  people. 

These  rights  taken  together  constituted  the  most  highly  valued 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Roman  citizen.  What  we  should 
particularly  notice  is  that  the  Romans  adopted  the  practice  of 
bestowing  these  rights  in  installments,  so  to  speak.  For  instance, 
the  inhabitants  of  one  vanquished  city  would  be  given  a  part  of 
the  private  rights  of  citizenship,  those  of  another  perhaps  all  of 
this  class  of  rights,  while  upon  the  inhabitants  of  a  third  place 
would  be  bestowed  all  the  rights,  both  private  and  public.    This 


154  ROMAN  INSTITUTIONS  [§235 

usage  created  many  different  classes  of  citizens  in  the  Roman 
state ;  and  this,  as  will  appear  later,  was  one  of  the  most  important 
matters  connected  with  the  internal  history  of  Rome. 

235.  Patricians  and  Plebeians.  In  early  Rome  there  were  two 
classes  or  orders,  known  as  patricians  and  plebeians.  The  patricians 
formed  the  hereditary  nobility  of  the  state.  They  alone  possessed 
all  the  rights  of  citizenship  as  enumerated  in  the  preceding  section. 

The  plebeians  (from  plcbs,  "the  multitude")  were  the  humbler 
members  of  the  community.  Some  of  this  class  were  shopkeepers, 
artisans,  and  manual  laborers  living  in  Rome ;  but  the  larger 
number  were  small  landowners  living  outside  the  city  in  scattered 
hamlets,  and  tilling  with  their  own  hands  their  little  farms  of  a 
few  acres  in  extent. 

From  most  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  full  citizen  the 
plebeians  were  wholly  shut  out.  They  could  not  contract  a  legal 
marriage  with  one  of  the  patrician  order.  They  could  not  hold 
office  nor  appeal  from  the  decision  of  a  magistrate.  A  large  part  of 
the  early  history  of  Rome  as  a  republic  is  made  up  of  the  struggles 
of  these  plebeians  to  better  their  economic  condition  and  to  secure 
for  themselves  social  and  political  equality  with  the  patricians. 

.       II.  RELIGION 

236.  The  Place  of  Religion  in  Roman  History.  In  Rome,  as 
in  the  ancient  cities  of  Greece,  religion,  aside  from  the  domestic 
and  local  cults,  was  an  affair  of  the  state.  The  magistrates  of  the 
city  possessed  a  sort  of  priestly  character ;  and  since  almost  every 
official  act  was  connected  in  some  way  with  the  rites  of  the  temple 
or  the  sacrifices  of  the  altar,  it  happens  that  the  political  history 
of  the  Romans  is  closely  interwoven  with  their  religion. 

237.  Roman  Deities.  Chief  of  the  Roman  deities  was  Jupiter, 
identical  in  all  essential  attributes  with  the  Hellenic  Zeus.  He 
was  the  special  protector  of  the  Roman  people.  To  him,  together 
with  Juno  his  wife  and  Minerva  goddess  of  wisdom,  was  conse- 
crated a  magnificent  temple  upon  the  summit  of  the  Capitoline 
Hill,  overlooking  the  forum  and  the  city. 


§238] 


ORACLES  AND  DIVINATION 


155 


Mars,  the  god  of  war,  was  the  favorite  deity  and  the  fabled 
father  of  the  Roman  race,  who  were  fond  of  calling  themselves  the 
"Children  of  Mars."  They  proved  themselves  worthy  offspring  of 
the  war-god.  Martial  games  and  festivals  were  celebrated  in  his 
honor  during  the  first  month  of  the  Roman  year — the  month 
which  bore,  and  still  bears,  in  his  honor,  the  name  of  jSIarch. 

Janus  was  a  double-faced  deity  to  whom  the  month  of  January 
was  sacred,  as  were  also  all  gates  and  doors.  The  gates  of  his 
temple  were  always  kept  open  in 
time  of  war  and  shut  in  time  of 
peace. 

The  fire  upon  the  household 
hearth  was  regarded  as  the  symbol 
of  the  goddess  Vesta.  Her  wor- 
ship was  a  favorite  one  with  the 
Romans.  The  nation,  too,  as  a 
single  great  family,  had  a  common 
national  hearth  in  the  temple  of 
Vesta,  where  the  sacred  fires  were 
kept  burning  from  generation  to 
generation  by  six  virgins,  daughters 
of  the  Roman  state  (see  sect.  7). 

238.  Oracles  and  Divination.  The  Romans,  like  the  Greeks, 
thought  that  the  will  of  the  gods  was  communicated  to  men  by 
means  of  oracles,  and  by  strange  sights,  unusual  events,  or  singular 
coincidences.  There  were  no  true  oracles  at  Rome.  The  Romans, 
therefore,  often  had  recourse  to  those  of  the  Greeks.  Particularly  in 
great  emergencies  did  they  seek  advice  from  the  celebrated  oracle 
of  Apollo  at  Delphi.  From  Etruria  was  introduced  the  art  of  divi- 
nation, which  consisted  in  discovering  the  will  of  the  gods  by  the 
appearance  of  the  inward  parts  of  victims  slain  for  the  sacrifices. 

239.  The  Sacred  Colleges.  The  four  chief  sacred  colleges  or 
societies  were  the  Keepers  of  the  Sibylline  Books,  the  College  of 
Augurs,  the  College  of  Pontiffs,  and  the  College  of  Heralds. 

The  Sibylline  Books  were  volumes  written  in  Greek,  the  origin 
of  which  was  lost  in  fable.    They  were  kept  in  a  stone  chest  in  a 


Fig.  61 .  Head  of  Janus.  (From 
a  Roman  coin) 


156 


ROMAN  INSTITUTIONS 


[§239 


vault  beneath  the  Capitoline  temple,  and  special  custodians  were 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  them  and  interpret  them.  The  books 
were  consulted  only  in  times  of  extreme  danger. 

The  duty  of  the  members  of  the  College  of  Augurs  was  to  inter- 
pret the  omens,  or  auspices, — which  were  casual  sights  or  appear- 
ances, particularly  the  flight  of  birds, —  by  which  means  it  was 
believed  that  Jupiter  made  known  his  will.  Great  skill  was  re- 
quired in  the  "  taking  of  the  auspices,"  as  it  was  called.  No  busi- 
ness of  importance, 
public  or  private, 
was  entered  upon 
without  the  auspices 
being  first  consulted 
to  ascertain  whether 
they  were  favorable. 
The  College  of 
Pontiffs  was  so 
called  probably  be- 
cause one  of  the 
duties  of  its  members 
was  to  keep  in  re- 
pair a  certain  bridge 
(pons)  over  the  Tiber.  This  guild  was  the  most  important  of  all 
the  religious  institutions  of  the  Romans ;  for  to  the  pontiffs 
belonged  the  superintendence  of  all  religious  matters.  The  head 
of  the  college  was  called  Pontijcx  Maximus,  or  "Chief  Bridge 
Builder,"  which  title  was  assumed  by  the  Roman  emperors,  and 
after  them  by  the  Christian  bishops  of  Rome ;  and  thus  the  name 
has  come  down  to  our  times. 

The  College  of  Heralds  (Fetiales)  had  the  care  of  all  public 
matters  pertaining  to  foreign  nations.  Thus,  if  the  Roman  people 
had  suffered  any  wrong  from  another  state,  and  war  was  deter- 
mined upon,  then  it  was  the  duty  of  a  herald  to  proceed  to  the 
frontier  of  the  enemy's  country  and  hurl  over  the  boundary  a 
spear  dipped  in  blood.  This  was  a  declaration  of  war.  The 
Romans  were  very  careful  in  the  observance  of  this  ceremony. 


Fig.  62.   Divining  hv  Means  of  the  Appear 

axce  of  the   entrails   of  a    sacrificial 

Victim 


§240] 


THE  LEGENDARY  KINGS 


157 


III.  ROME  UNDER  THE  KINGS  (LEGENDARY  DATE 

753-509  B.C.) 

240.  The  Legendary  Kings.  The  early  government  of  Rome 
was  a  monarchy.  Tradition  tells  of  the  reigns  of  seven  kings  of 
whom  the  first  was  Romulus,  the  founder  of  the  city,  and  the  last 
Tarquinius  Superbus,  a  haughty  tyrant,  whose  oppressions  led 
to  the  abolition  by  the 


The  Seven  Hills  of  Rome 


people  of  the  office  of 
king. 

The  tradition  hope- 
lessly blends  fact  and 
fable.  Respecting  Ro- 
man affairs,  however, 
under  the  last  three 
kings  (the  Tarquins), 
who  were  of  Etruscan 
origin,  some  import- 
ant things  are  related, 
upon  the  substantial 
truth  of  which  we  may 
rely  with  a  fair  degree 
of  certainty, 

241.  Growth  of  Rome  under  the  Tarquins.  The  Tarquins  are 
represented  by  the  legends  as  having  extended  their  authority  over 
much  of  Latium.  The  position  of  supremacy  thus  given  Rome 
was  attended  by  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city  in  population  and 
importance.  The  original  walls  soon  became  too  strait  for  the 
increasing  multitudes ;  new  ramparts  were  built  which,  with  a 
great  circuit  of  seven  miles,  swept  around  the  entire  cluster  of 
seven  hills  that  formed  the  site  of  the  city,  whence  the  name  that 
Rome  acquired  of  the  "City  of  the  Seven  Hills." 

On  a  reclaimed  tract  of  marshy  ground  was  established  the 
Forum,  the  public  market  place  of  the  early  city.  At  one  end  of 
this  public  square,  as  we  should  call  it,  was  the  Comitium,  an  in- 
closure   where   assemblies    for    voting   purposes    were    held.     In 


158  ROME  UNDER  THE  KINGS  [S  242 

later  times  this  assembling  place  was  enlarged  and  decorated  with 
various  monuments  and  surrounded  with  splendid  buildings  and 
porticoes.  For  upwards  of  a  thousand  years  this  spot  was  one 
of  the  chief  centers  of  the  life  and  activities  of  the  ancient  world. 

The  tradition  tells  further  of  military  and  constitutional  re- 
forms effected  by  the  second  Etruscan  king,  Servius  Tullius  by 
name,  which,  giving  the  plebeians  a  place  in  the  army, —  from 
which  they  were  at  first  excluded, —  were  an  important  step  toward 
the  establishment  of  social  and  political  equality  between  the  two 
great  classes  in  the  state.  These  reforms,  it  is  true,  as  the  his- 
torian Mommsen  maintains,  assigned  to  the  plebeians  duties 
chiefly,  and  not  rights ;  but  being  called  upon  to  discharge  the 
most  important  duties  of  citizens,  it  was  not  long  before  they 
demanded  all  the  rights  of  citizens — and  as  the  bearers  of  arms 
they  were  able,  as  we  shall  see,  to  enforce  their  demands. 

The  assembling  place  of  the  army  was  just  outside  the  city 
walls,  on  a  large  plain  called  the  Campus  Martius,  or  Field  of 
Mars.  The  meeting  was  called  the  comitia  ccnturiata,  or  the 
Assembly  of  Centuries.' 

242.  The  Expulsion  of  the  Kings.  The  legends,  as  already 
noted,  make  Tarquinius  Supcrbus  the  last  king  of  Rome.  He  is 
represented  as  a  monstrous  tyrant,  whose  arbitrary  acts  caused 
both  patricians  and  plebeians  to  unite  and  drive  him  and  all  his 
house  into  exile.  This  event,  according  to  the  Roman  annalists, 
occurred  in  the  year  509  B.C.,  only  one  year  later  than  the  expulsion 
of  the  tyrants  from  Athens  (sect.  131). 

References.  Plctakcii,  /\o»iiiIii.\  and  Xiniiu  (in  the  case  of  these  particular 
lives  the  student  will  of  course  bear  in  mind  that  he  is  reading  Roman  folklore  ; 
but  it  is  worth  while  for  the  student  of  Roman  history  to  know  what  the 
Romans  of  later  times  themselves  believed  respecting  their  early  kings). 
MoMMSKN,  T.,  vol.  i,  bk.  i,  chaps,  iv-xv.  Seic.n'oikjs,  (;.  (Fairly  ed.),  Ifistoiy 
of  the  Romoti  People,  chaps,  ii.  iv.  Pki.iiam,  II.  F.,  Outlines  of  Roinnii  I/istofy, 
bk.  i,  chaps,  ii,  iii.  Ihnk.  \V.  K..  /'mi/v  Rome.  Fowi.r.u.  W.  W..  77ie  City-state 
of  the  (ireel;s  oiul  /u'liniif.,  chaps,  ii.  iii.  Alilto'ir,  F.  I'..  Noiiiaii  I'olitinil  Insti- 
tutions, chaps,  i,  ii.    |i  min:^  i  >  i.n.  1 1.  \V.,  Ihe  J'liTole  Life  of  the  A'oukius,  pp.  2S-32. 

•  The  unit  of  the  military  organization  was  the  century,  probably  containing  in  early 
times,  as  the  name  {centiiria)  indicates,  one  hundred  men. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  EARLY  REPUBLIC;  PLEBEIANS  BECOME  CITIZENS  WITH 
FULL  RIGHTS 

(509-367  B.C.) 

243.  Republican  Magistrates:  the  Consuls  and  the  Dictator. 
With  the  monarchy  overthrown  the  people  set  to  work  to  reor- 
ganize the  government.  In  place  of  the  king  there  were  elected 
two  patrician  magistrates,  called  at  first  proetors,  or  "leaders," 
but  later  consuls,  or  "colleagues."  These  magistrates  were  chosen 
for  one  year,  and  were  invested  at  first  with  all  the  powers,  save 
some  priestly  functions,  that  had  been  exercised  by  the  king.  In 
public  each  consul  was  attended,  as  the  king  had  been,  by  twelve 
lictors,  bearing  the  "dread  fasces"  (sect.  232). 

Each  consul  had  the  power  of  obstructing  the  acts  or  vetoing 
the  commands  of  the  other.  This  division  of  authority  weakened 
the  executive,  so  that  in  times  of  great  public  danger  it  was  neces- 
sary to  supersede  the  consuls  by  the  appointment  of  a  special 
officer  bearing  the  title  of  dictator,  whose  term  of  office  was  limited 
to  six  months,  but  whose  power  during  this  time  was  as  unlimited 
as  that  of  the  king  had  been. 

244.  First  Secession  of  the  Plebeians  (494 B.C.).  A  troublous 
period  followed  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins.  During  this  time 
of  disorder  the  poor  plebeians  fell  more  deeply  in  debt  to  the 
wealthy  class,  and  payment  was  exacted  with  heartless  severity. 
A  debtor  became  the  absolute  property  of  his  creditor,  who  might 
sell  him  as  a  slave  to  pay  the  debt,  and  in  some  cases  even  put 
him  to  death. 

The  situation  was  intolerable.  The  plebeians,  so  tradition  tells, 
resolved  to  secede  from  Rome  and  build  a  new  city  for  themselves 
on  a  neighboring  eminence,  known  afterwards  as  the  Sacred  Mount. 
Having  on  one  occasion  been  called  to  arms  to  repel  an  invasion, 

159 


i6o 


THE  EARLY  REPUBLIC 


[§  245 


they  refused  to  march  out  against  the  enemy,  but  instead  marched 
away  in  a  body  from  Rome  to  the  spot  selected  beforehand  and 
began  to  make  preparations  for  erecting  new  homes. 

245.  The  Covenant  and 
the  Tribunes.  The  patri- 
cians well  knew  that  such  a 
division  would  prove  ruinous 
to  the  state,  and  that  the 
plebeians  must  be  persuaded 
to  give  up  their  enterprise 
and  come  back  to  Rome.  A 
commission  was  sent  to  treat 
with  the  insurgents.  The 
plebeians  were  at  first  ob- 
durate, but  at  last  were 
persuaded  to  yield  to  the 
entreaties  of  the  embassy  to 
return,  being  won  to  this 
mind,  so  it  is  said,  by  one 
of  the  wise  senators,  who 
made  use  of  the  well-known 
fable  of  the  Body  and  the 
Members. 

The    following    covenant 
was  entered  into  and  bound 
by  the  most  solemn  oaths : 
The    debts    of    the    poor 
plebeians  were  to  be  can- 
celed  and   debtors   held   in 
slavery  set  free ;  and  there 
were  to  be  chosen  two  plebeian  magistrates  (the  number  was  soon 
increased  to  ten),  called  tribunes,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  watch 
over  and  protect  the  plebeians. 

That  the  tribunes  might  be  the  protectors  of  the  plebeians  in 
something  more  than  name,  they  were  invested  with  an  extraor- 
dinary power  known  as  the  jus  auxilii,  "the  right  of  aid";   that 


P^KJ.  63.     LiCTOKS    WITH    FaSCES 

The  symbolic  fasces  borne  by  these  officers  were 

probably  of  Ktruscan  origin.   'J'he  Tarquins  are 

said  to  have  brought  them  to  Kome,  along  with 

other  insignia  of  the  kingly  office 


§246]        BORDER  WARS  AND  BORDER  TALES  i6i 

is,  they  were  given  the  right,  should  any  patrician  magistrate  at- 
tempt to  deal  wrongfully  with  a  plebeian,  to  annul  his  act  or  stop 
his  proceeding. 

The  persons  of  the  tribunes  were  made  sacrosanct,  that  is, 
inviolable,  like  the  persons  of  heralds.  Anyone  interrupting  a 
tribune  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  or  doing  him  any  violence 
was  declared  an  outlaw  whom  anyone  might  kill.  That  the  tribunes 
might  be  always  easily  found,  they  were  not  allowed  to  go  more 
than  one  mile  beyond  the  city  walls.  Their  houses  were  to  be  open 
night  and  day,  that  any  plebeian  unjustly  dealt  with  might  flee 
thither  for  protection  and  refuge. 

We  cannot  overestimate  the  importance  of  this  establishment  of 
the  plebeian  tribunate.  Under  the  protection  and  leadership  of 
the  tribunes,  who  were  themselves  protected  by  oaths  of  inviolable 
sanctity,  the  plebeians  carried  on  a  struggle  for  a  share  in  the 
offices  and  dignities  of  the  state  which  never  ceased  until  the 
Roman  government,  as  yet  only  republican  in  name,  became  in 
fact  a  real  democracy,  in  which  patrician  and  plebeian  shared 
equally  in  all  rights  and  privileges. 

246.  Border  Wars  and  Border  Tales ;  Cincinnatus.  The  chief 
enemies  of  early  Rome  and  her  Latin  allies  were  the  Volscians, 
the  ^quians,  the  Sabines,  and  the  Etruscans.  For  more  than  a 
hundred  years  after  the  founding  of  the  Republic,  Rome,  either 
alone  or  in  connection  with  her  confederates,  was  almost  constantly 
fighting  one  or  another  or  all  of  these  peoples.  But  these  oper- 
ations cannot  be  regarded  as  real  wars.  They  were,  on  both  sides, 
for  the  most  part  mere  plundering  forays  or  cattle-raiding  expedi- 
tions into  the  enemy's  territories.  We  shall  probably  not  get  a 
wrong  idea  of  their  real  character  if  we  liken  them  to  the  early 
so-called  border  wars  between  England  and  Scotland.  Like  the 
Scottish  wars,  they  were  embellished  by  the  story-tellers  with  the 
most  picturesque  tales.  One  of  the  best  known  of  these  is  that 
of  Cincinnatus. 

According  to  the  tradition,  while  one  of  the  consuls  was  away 
fighting  the  Sabines,  the  .^quians  defeated  the  forces  of  the 
other  and  shut  them  up  in  a  narrow  valley  whence  escape  seemed 


l62 


THE  EARLY  REPUBLIC 


[§247 


impossible.  There  was  great  terror  in  Rome  when  news  of  llic 
situation  of  the  army  was  brought  to  the  city.  The  Senate  im- 
mediately appointed  Cincinnatus,  a  grand  old  patrician,  dictator. 
The  commissioners  who  carried  to  him  the  message  from  the 
Senate  found  him  upon  his  little  farm  across  the  Tiber,  at  work 


SCALE  OF  MILES 

S  5  10 


[  \ri,e'Itomm,  Domain. 

^^^  The  Latin  Vimfeikracy. 

I    ::^;;;|  The  orisrinat  domain  of  the  cilu  of  Ri 


The  Roman  Domain  and  the  Latin  Confederacy  in  the  Ti.me  of 
THE  Early  Republic,  about  450  b.c. 


ploughing.  Cincinnatus  at  once  accepted  the  office,  gathered  an 
army,  surrounded  and  captured  the  enemy,  and  sent  them  all 
beneath  the  yoke.^  He  then  led  his  army  back  to  Rome  in 
triumph,  laid  down  his  office,  having  held  it  only  sixteen  days,  and 
sought  again  the  retirement  of  his  farm. 

247.  The  Decemvirs  and  the  Twelve  Tables  of  Laws  (tradi- 
tional date  451-450  B.C.).  Written  laws  are  always  a  great  safe- 
guard against  oppression.    Until  what  shall  constitute  a  crime  and 

1  This  was  formed  of  two  spears  thrust  firmly  into  the  pround  and  crossed  a  few 
feet  from  the  earth  by  a  third  spc-ar.  Prisoners  of  war  were  forced  to  pass  beneath  this 
yoke  as  a  symbol  of  submission. 


§247]  THE  TWELVE  TABLES  OF  LAWS  163 

what  shall  be  its  penalty  are  clearly  written  down  and  well  known 
and  understood  by  all,  judges  may  render  unfair  decisions  or  inflict 
unjust  punishment,  and  yet  run  little  risk  of  being  called  to  an 
account ;  for  no  one  but  themselves  knows  what  either  the  law  or 
the  penalty  really  is.  Hence  in  all  struggles  of  the  people  against 
the  tyranny  of  a  ruling  class  the  demand  for  written  law  is  one 
of  the  first  measures  taken  by  them  for  the  protection  of  their 
persons  and  property.  Thus  the  commons  of  Athens,  early  in  their 
struggle  with  the  nobles,  demanded  and  obtained  a  code  of  written 
laws  (sect.  128).  The  same  thing  now  took  place  at  Rome.  The 
plebeians  demanded  that  the  laws  be  written  down  and  published. 
The  patricians  offered  a  stubborn  resistance  to  their  wishes,  but 
finally  were  forced  to  yield  to  the  popular  clamor. 

A  commission,  so  tradition  says,  was  sent  to  the  Greek  cities 
of  Southern  Italy  and  to  Athens  to  study  their  laws  and  customs. 
Upon  the  return  of  this  embassy  a  commission  of  ten  magistrates, 
known  as  decemvirs,  was  appointed  to  frame  a  code  of  laws.  The 
code  when  finally  finished  was  written  on  twelve  tablets  of  bronze, 
which  were  fastened  to  the  Rostra,  or  orator's  platform  in  the 
Forum,  where  they  might  be  seen  and  read  by  all.  Only  a  few 
fragments  of  these  celebrated  laws  have  been  preserved,  but  the 
substance  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  code  is  known  to  us  through 
the  allusions  to  it  in  the  works  of  later  writers  and  jurists.  The 
following  quotations  will  give  some  idea  of  the  character  of  this 
primitive  law-system — the  starting-point  of  a  great  development 
(see  sect.  346). 

The  provisions  regarding  the  treatment  of  debtors  are  note- 
worthy. The  law  provided  that,  after  the  lapse  of  a  certain 
number  of  days  of  grace,  the  creditor  of  a  delinquent  debtor  might 
put  him  in  the  stocks  or  in  chains,  sell  him  to  any  stranger  resi- 
dent beyond  the  Tiber,  or  put  him  to  death.  In  case  there  were 
several  creditors  the  law  provided  as  follows:  ''After  the  third 
market  day  his  [the  debtor's]  body  may  be  divided.  Any  one 
taking  more  than  his  just  share  shall  be  held  guiltless."  We  are 
informed  by  later  Roman  writers  that  this  savage  provision  of  the 
law  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  never  carried  into  effect. 


1 64  THE  EARLY  REPUBLIC  [§248 

A  special  provision  touching  the  power  of  the  father  over  his 
sons  provided  that  "during  their  whole  life  he  shall  have  the  right 
to  imprison,  scourge,  keep  to  rustic  labor  in  chains,  to  sell  or  to 
slay,  even  though  they  may  be  in  the  enjoyment  of  high  state 
offices."  The  prevalence  of  popular  superstitions  is  revealed  by 
one  of  the  laws  which  provides  for  the  punishment  of  any  one 
who  by  enchantments  should  blight  the  crops  of  another. 

These  "Laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables"  formed  the  basis  of  all 
new  legislation,  touching  private  or  personal  rights,  for  many 
centuries,  and  constituted  a  part  of  the  education  of  the  Roman 
youth,  every  schoolboy  being  required  to  learn  them  by  heart. 

248.  Sack  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls  (390  B.C.).  We  have  noticed 
how  in  early  times  Celtic  tribes  from  Gaul  crossed  the  Alps  and 
established  themselves  in  Northern  Italy.  Soon  after  the  opening 
of  the  fourth  century  b.c.  great  hordes  of  these  barbarians  made  a 
devastating  raid  through  Central  Italy.  Penally  they  appeared  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Rome.  A  Roman  army  met  them  on  the 
banks  of  the  Allia,  eleven  miles  from  the  capital.  But  an  un- 
accountable panic  seized  the  Romans,  and  they  abandoned  the 
field  in  disgraceful  flight.  It  would  be  impossible  to  picture  the 
consternation  and  despair  that  reigned  at  Rome  when  the  fugitives 
brought  to  the  city  intelligence  of  the  terrible  disaster.  It  was 
never  forgotten,  and  the  day  of  the  battle  of  the  Allia  was  ever 
after  a  black  day  in  the  Roman  calendar.  The  sacred  vessels  of 
the  temples  were  buried ;  the  eternal  fires  of  Vesta  were  hurriedly 
borne  by  their  virgin  keepers  to  a  place  of  safety  in  Etruria ;  and 
a  large  part  of  the  population  fled  in  dismay  across  the  Tiber, 
No  attempt  was  made  to  defend  any  portion  of  the  city  save  the 
citadel. 

Unable  to  dislodge  the  little  garrison  within  the  citadel,  the 
Gauls  finally  opened  negotiations  with  the  Romans.  For  one 
thousand  pounds  of  gold  the  Gauls  agreed  to  retire  from  the  city. 
As  the  story  runs,  while  the  gold  was  being  weighed  out  in  the 
Forum  the  Romans  complained  that  the  weights  were  false,  when 
Brennus,  the  Gallic  leader,  threw  his  sword  also  into  the  scales, 
exclaiming,  "  Vac  victis ! "  (Woe  to  the  vanquished  ! )    Just  at  this 


§249]  THE  LICINIAN  LAWS  165 

moment,  so  the  tale  continues,  Camillus,  a  brave  patrician  general 
who  had  been  appointed  dictator,  appeared  upon  the  scene  with 
a  Roman  army  that  had  been  gathered  from  the  fugitives.  As  he 
scattered  the  barbarians  with  heavy  blows  he  exclaimed,  "Rome 
is  ransomed  with  steel,  and  not  with  gold." 

The  city,  which  the  Gauls  had  burned,  was  quickly  rebuilt. 
There  were  some  things,  however,  which  could  not  be  restored. 
These  were  the  ancient  records,  through  whose  irreparable  loss  the 
early  history  of  Rome  is  involved  in  great  obscurity. 

249.  The  Licinian  Laws  (367  B.C.).  A  great  advance  of  the 
plebeians  towards  political  equality  with  the  patricians,  for  which 
the  plebeians  had  contended  ever  since  the  expulsion  of  the  kings, 
was  effected  through  the  passage  of  the  Licinian  Laws,  so  called 
from  one  of  their  proposers,  the  tribune  Gains  Licinius.  Among 
other  provisions  these  laws  contained  the  following :  ( i )  that  of 
the  two  consuls  one  should  be  a  plebeian;  (2)  that  in  place  of 
the  two  patrician  keepers  of  the  Sibylline  Books  (sect.  239)  there 
should  in  the  future  be  ten,  and  that  five  of  these  should  be 
plebeians. 

The  equalization  of  the  two  orders  was  now  practically  effected. 
The  son  of  a  peasant  might  rise  to  the  highest  office  in  the  state. 
The  plebeians  later  gained  with  comparative  ease  admission  to  the 
remaining  offices  from  which  the  jealousy  of  the  patricians  still 
excluded  them. 

The  incorporation  of  the  plebeians  with  the  body  of  Roman 
citizens  with  full  rights  was  a  matter  of  immense  import  for  the 
future  of  Rome.  It  greatly  strengthened  the  state  and  insured  the 
future  of  the  city.  It  was  followed  by  a  century  of  successful 
wars  which  made  Rome  the  mistress  of  Italy  and  paved  the  way 
for  her  advance  to  the  dominion  of  the  civilized  world. 

References.  Plutarch,  Gains  Marchts  Coriolajins.  Mommsen,  T.,  vol.  i, 
bk.  ii,  chaps,  i-iii.  Pei.ham,  II.  F.,  Otitliufs  of  Roman  History,  bk.  ii,  chap.  i. 
How,  W.  \V.,  and  Leigh,  II.  D.,  History  of  Rome,  chaps,  v-xiii.  Shuckhurch, 
E.  S.,  Histofy  of  Rome,  chaps,  v,  viii,  ix.  Ahuott,  F.  F.,  Roman  Political  Insti- 
tutions, pp.  2.}- 57 .  I U  N E,  W.,  Early  Rome,  chaps,  x-xxi.  Fra N K,  T.,  Roman  Im- 
perialism, chaps,  i,  ii.    Granrud,  J.  E.,  Roman  Constitutional Histoiy,  pp.  27-92. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
THE  CONQUEST  AND  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY 

(367-264  B.C.) 

250.  The  Roman  Municipal  System.  In  the  time  of  the  kings, 
when  Alba  Longa,  a  leading  city  of  Latium,  was  taken  by  the 
Romans,  the  city  was  destroyed  and  its  inhabitants  transported  in 
a  body  to  Rome  and  incorporated  with  the  Roman  people.  Later, 
in  the  times  of  the  early  republic,  when  Veil,  a  great  Etruscan  city, 
was  captured,  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  killed  or 
sold  as  slaves,  the  vanquished  community  being  thus  broken  up 
and,  as  it  were,  wiped  out  of  existence. 

Now,  Rome  admittedly  could  not  attain  to  greatness  by  following 
either  of  these  two  ways  of  treating  vanquished  enemies.  Happily, 
very  early  in  her  history  she  hit  upon  a  new  governmental  device 
which  enabled  her  to  incorporate  into  her  growing  dominions  one 
conquered  city  after  another  until  she  had  absorbed  the  whole 
Mediterranean  world.  This  device  was  what  is  known  as  the  mu- 
nicipal system,  for  the  reason  that  the  Roman  writers  gave  to  a 
city  to  which  this  system  was  applied  the  name  municipium. 

We  shall  best  secure  a  good  understanding  of  the  essential 
feature  of  this  municipal  system  if  we  glance  at  the  system  as  it 
exists  among  ourselves  today ;  for  our  so-called  municipal  system, 
in  its  underlying  principle,  is  an  inheritance  from  Rome.  A  mu- 
nicipality in  our  system  of  government  is  a  city  which,  acting 
under  a  charter  granted  by  the  state  in  whose  territory  it  is  situ- 
ated and  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  elects  its  own  magistrates,  and 
manages,  with  more  or  less  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  state,  its 
own  local  affairs.  The  essential  principle  involved  in  the  arrange- 
ment is  local  self-government,  carried  on  under  the  superior  author- 
ity of  the  state.  The  city,  without  its  local  political  life  having  been 
stifled,  has  been  made  a  vital  part  of  a  larger  political  organism. 

1 66 


§251]        THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  LATIN  CITIES  167 

What  we  have  now  said  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  important 
place  which  the  municipal  system  of  Rome  holds  in  the  develop- 
ment of  free  self-government  among  men.  This  was  Rome's  great, 
and  almost  her  only,  contribution  to  political  constitutional  his- 
tory, and  after  her  law  system  her  best  gift  to  civilization. 

251.  The  Revolt  of  the  Latin  Cities  (340-338  b.c).  This  gov- 
ernmental device  of  the  municipium  was  first  applied  by  Rome, 
in  a  large  way,  to  the  neighboring  cities  of  Latium.  We  have  seen 
how  at  the  opening  of  the  historic  period  the  little  city-states  of 
this  region  formed  a  federation  known  as  the  Latin  League,  of 
which  Rome  was  the  leading  member  (sect.  227).  At  the  outset 
this  association  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  like  the  Delian 
League,  which,  after  the  repulse  of  the  Persians  from  Greece,  Athens 
formed  with  her  Ionian  allies  (sect.  145).  But  as  time  passed 
Rome  began  to  play  in  the  league  the  same  role  that  Athens  played 
in  the  Delian  Confederacy.  She  used  her  position  in  the  at  first 
equal  alliance  between  her  and  the  Latin  towns  to  make  herself 
virtually  their  master.  From  allies  they  became  dependents.  W^ith 
this  position  they  could  not  be  satisfied.  They  resolved  that  Rome 
should  give  up  the  sovereignty  she  was  virtually  exercising.  Ac- 
cordingly they  sent  an  embassy  to  Rome,  demanding  that  the 
association  should  be  made  one  of  perfect  equality.  To  this  end 
the  ambassadors  proposed  that  in  the  future  one  of  the  consuls 
should  be  a  Latin,  and  that  one  half  of  the  Senate  should  be  chosen 
from  the  Latin  nation.  Rome  was  to  be  the  common  fatherland, 
and  all  were  to  bear  the  Roman  name. 

The  demands  of  the  Latin  allies  were  refused,  and  war  followed. 
After  about  three  years'  hard  fighting,  the  rebellion  was  subdued. 
Rome  now  dissolved  the  Latin  League  and  resettled  her  relations 
to  its  members.  The  essence  of  this  famous  settlement  was  that 
most  of  the  cities  —  a  few,  three  or  four,  were  left  their  independ- 
ence—  were  made  municipia  of  different  grades;  that  is  to  say, 
they  were  deprived  of  sovereignty  and  their  territories  were  made 
a  part  of  the  Roman  domain,  but  they  were  left  their  city  consti- 
tutions and  were  allowed  to  live  on  as  separate  communities  with 
local  self-government  inside  the  Roman  state.    The  inhabitants  of 


i68       CONQUEST  AND  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY    [§252 


some  of  these  municipalities  were  admitted  at  once  to  full  Roman 
citizenship,  while  those  of  others  were  allowed  only  a  part  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  citizens.  After  a  period  of  probation  these 
semi-citizens^  were  all  admitted  to  the  full  rights  of  the  city. 

Rome  was  now  fairly  started  on  the  way  to  greatness.  She  had 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  state  unlike  anything  the  world  had  seen 
before,  and  one  capable  of  great  expansion.  "It  was,  in  short, 
to  the  liberal  policy  inaugurated  by  the  statesman  of  338  that 
^^^  the  Roman  city-state 

owed  its  capacity  to 
unify  Italy  and  make 
it  one  people."^ 

252.  The  Sam- 
nites.  The  most  for- 
midable competitors 
of  the  Romans  for 
supremacy  in  Italy 
were  the  Samnites, 
a  rough  and  warlike 
mountain  people  who 
held  the  Apennines 
to  the  southeast  of 
Latium.  The  successive  struggles  between  these  martial  races — 
the  ancient  writers  tell  of  three  wars  —  extended  over  a  period  of 
half,  a  century  (about  343-290  B.C.),  and  in  their  course  involved 
almost  all  the  states  of  Italy.  The  Romans  were  finally  victors. 
Within  a  short  time  after  the  subjection  of  the  Samnites  almost  all 
the  Greek  cities  of  Southern  Italy,  except  Tarentum,  had  also  come 
under  the  growing  power  of  the  imperial  city. 

During  the  course  of  these  wars  with  the  Samnites  and  their 
allies  Rome  had  added  extensive  territories  to  her  domain,  and 
had  made  her  hold  of  these  secure  by  means  of  colonies  and  mili- 
tary roads;  for  it  was  at  this  time  that  Rome  began  the  construc- 
tion of  those  remarkable  highwavs  that  formed  one  of  the  most 


Fig.  64.  The  Ai'i'iAN  Way.  (i-'rom  a  photograph) 


1  Known  as  cives  sine  siiffragio  (citizens  without  suffrage),  since  they  could  not  vote 
in  the  assemblies  at  Rome.  2  Frank,  Roman  Imperialism  (1914),  p.  40. 


§253]  THE  WAR  WITH  TARENTUM  169 

impressive  features  of  her  later  empire.  The  first  of  these  roads, 
which  ran  from  Rome  to  Capua,  was  begun  in  the  year  312  B.C. 
by  the  censor  Appius  Claudius,  and  was  called  after  him  the 
Via  Appia. 

253.  The  War  with  Tarentum  and  Pyrrhus  (282-272  B.C. ). 
Tarentum,  a  seaport  of  Calabria,  was  one  of  the  most  opulent  of 
the  cities  of  Magna  Graecia.  The  Tarentines  having  mistreated 
some  Roman  prisoners,  the  Roman  Senate  promptly  sent  an 
embassy  to  Tarentum  to  demand  amends.  In  the  theater,  in  the 
presence  of  a  great  assembly,  one  of  the  ambassadors  was  grossly 
insulted,  his  toga  being  befouled  by  a  clownish  fellow  amidst  the 
approving  plaudits  of  a  giddy  crowd.  The  ambassador,  raising 
the  soiled  garment,  said  sternly,  "Laugh  now;  but  you  will  weep 
when  this  toga  is  cleansed  with  blood."  Rome  at  once  declared 
war. 

The  Tarentines  turned  to  Greece  for  aid.  Pyrrhus,  king  of 
Epirus  and  a  cousin  of  Alexander  the  Great,  a  restless  man,  who, 
as  Plutarch  says,  "thought  life  consisted  in  troubling  others 
and  in  being  troubled,"  and  who  had  an  ambition  to  build  up 
such  an  empire  in  the  West  as  his  famous  kinsman  had  estab- 
lished in  the  East,  responded  to  their  entreaties,  and  crossed  over 
into  Italy  with  an  army  of  Greek  mercenaries  and  twenty  war 
elephants. 

Pyrrhus'  first  battle  with  the  Romans  was  won  for  him  by  his 
war  elephants,  the  sight  of  which,  being  new  to  the  Romans,  caused 
them  to  flee  from  the  field  in  dismay.  But  Pyrrhus  had  lost 
thousands  of  his  bravest  troops.  As  he  looked  over  the  battlefield 
he  is  said  to  have  turned  to  his  companions  and  remarked, 
"Another  such  victory  and  I  shall  be  ruined";  hence  the  phrase 
"a  Pyrrhic  victory." 

After  further  campaigning,  ending  with  a  real  defeat,  Pyrrhus 
finally  returned  to  Epirus,  "leaving  behind  him  nothing  save  a 
brilliant  reputation."  Tarentum  soon  afterwards  surrendered  to 
the  Romans.  This  virtually  ended  the  struggle  for  the  mastery  of 
Italy.  Rome  was  soon  mistress  of  all  the  peninsula  south  of  the 
streams  of  the  Arnus  (Arno)  and  the  Rubicon. 


170       CONQUEST  AND  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY    [§254 


«    1)  > 


'^^l^^h^^j 


\F^i^ 


254.  United  Italy.  This  political  union  of  Italy  paved  the  way 
for  the  social  and  racial  unification  of  the  peninsula.  The  greatest 
marvel  of  all  history  is  how  Rome,  embracing  at  first  merely  a 
handful  of  peasants,  could  have  made  so  much  of  the  ancient 
world  like  unto  herself  in  speech,  in  custom,  in  manners,  and  largely 
in  blood.    That  she  did  so,  that  she  did  thus  Romanize  a  large 

part  of  the  peoples  of  antiquity,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  matters 
in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 
Rome  accomplished  this  great  feat 
in  large  measure  by  means  of  her 
system  of  colonization,  which  was, 
in  some  respects,  unlike  that  of  any 
other  people  in  ancient  or  in  mod- 
ern times.  We  must  make  ourselves 
familiar  with  some  of  the  main  fea- 
tures of  this  unique  colonial  system. 
255.  Roman  Colonies  and  Latin 
Colonies.  The  colonies  that  Rome 
established  in  conquered  territories 
fall  into  two  classes,  known  as  Roman 
colonies  and  Latin  colonies.  Roman 
colonies  were  made  up  of  emigrants, 
generally  three  hundred  in  number, 
who  retained  in  the  new  settlement 
all  the  rights  and  privileges,  both 
private  and  public,  of  Roman  citi- 
zens, though  of  course  some  of  these  rights,  as  for  instance  that 
of  voting  in  the  public  assemblies  at  Rome,  could  be  exercised 
by  the  colonist  only  through  his  return  to  the  capital.  Such 
colonies  were  in  ■  effect  permanent  military  camps  intended  to 
guard  or  to  hold  in  subjection  conquered  territories.  Usually 
it  was  some  concjuered  city  that  was  occupied  by  the  Roman 
colonists,  the  old  inhabitants  either  being  expelled  in  whole  or 
in  part  or  retkiced  to  a  subject  condition.  The  colonists  in  their 
new  homes  organized  a  government  which  was  almost  an  exact 


Fig.  65.  Gkotto  of  Posilu'O 
(Near  Naples) 

An  old  Roman  tunnel,  about  half  a 

mile  in  length,  still  in  use  on  the 

Appian  Way 


§255]  ROMAN  AND  LATIN  COLONIES  171 

imitation  of  that  of  Rome,  and  through  their  own  assemblies 
and  magistrates  managed  all  their  local  affairs.  These  colonies 
were,  in  a  word,  simply  miniature  Romes^ — ^ centers  from  which 
radiated  Roman  culture  into  all  the  regions  round  about  them. 

The  Latin  colonies  were  so  called,  not  because  they  were  founded 
by  Latin  settlers,  but  because  their  inhabitants  possessed  sub- 
stantially the  same  rights  as  the  towns  of  the  old  Latin  League. 
The  Latin  colonist  possessed  some  of  the  most  valuable  of  the 
private  rights  of  Roman  citizens,  together  with  the  capacity  to 
acquire  the  suffrage  by  migrating  to  the  capital  and  taking  up 
a  permanent  residence  there,  provided  he  left  behind  in  the  town 
whence  he  came  sons  to  take  his  place. 

There  is  an  analogy  between  the  status  of  a  settler  in  an  ancient 
Latin  colony  and  of  a  settler  in  a  territory  of  our  Union.  When  a 
citizen  of  any  state  migrates  to  a  territory  he  loses  his  right  of 
voting  in  a  federal  election,  just  as  a  Roman  citizen  in  becoming 
a  Latin  colonist  lost  his  right  of  voting  in  the  assemblies  at  Rome. 
Then  again,  the  resident  of  a  territory  has  the  privilege  of  changing 
his  residence  and  settling  in  a  state,  thereby  acquiring  the  federal 
suffrage,  just  as  the  inhabitant  of  a  Latin  colony  could  migrate 
to  Rome  and  thus  acquire  the  right  to  vote  in  the  assemblies  there. 

The  Latin  colonies  numbered  about  thirty  at  the  time  of  the 
Second  Punic  War.  They  were  scattered  throughout  Italy,  and 
formed,  in  the  words  of  the  historian  Mommsen,  "the  real  buttress 
of  the  Roman  rule."  They  were,  even  to  a  greater  degree  than  the 
Roman  colonies,  active  and  powerful  agents  in  the  dissemination 
of  the  Roman  language,  law,  and  culture.  They  were  Rome's  chief 
auxiliary  in  her  great  task  of  making  all  Italy  Roman. 

All  these  colonies  were  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  capital  by 
means  of  splendid  military  roads,  the  construction  of  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  begun  during  the  Samnite  wars  (sect.  252). 

References.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Pyrrhus.  Mommskn,  T.,  vol.  i,  bk.  ii. 
chaps,  v-ix.  Ihne,  W.,  vol.  i,  bk.  iii,  chap,  xviii,  "  Condition  of  the  Roman 
People  before  the  Beginning  of  the  Wars  with  Carthage."  Heiti.and,  W.  E., 
vol.  i,  chaps,  xvi-xx.  Tiohe,  A.,  The  De7'elopnieiit  of  the  Roman  Constitution, 
chap.  V.  Pelham,  II.  F.,  Outlines  of  Kornan  Histon',  bk.  ii,  chap.  ii.  Reid, 
J.  S.,  The  Municipalities  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chaps,  i-iii,  iv  (first  part). 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

EXPANSION  OF  ROME  BEYOND  THE  PENINSULA 
I.  THE  FIRST  PUNIC  WAR  (264-241  B.C.) 

256.  Carthage  and  her  Empire,  Foremost  among  the  cities 
founded  by  the  Phoenicians  was  Carthage,  upon  the  northern 
coast  of  Africa.  The  favorable  location  of  the  colony  upon  one 
of  the  best  harbors  of  the  African  coast  gave  the  city  a  vast  and 
lucrative  commerce.  By  the  time  Rome  had  extended  her  au- 
thority over  Italy,  Carthage  held  sway,  through  peaceful  coloniza- 
tion or  by  force  of  arms,  over  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  and 
possessed  Sardinia  as  well  as  the  larger  part  of  Sicily.  She  also 
collected  tribute  from  the  natives  of  Corsica  and  of  southern  Spain. 
With  all  its  shores  dotted  with  her  colonies  and  fortresses  and 
swept  in  every  direction  by  her  war  galleys,  the  western  Mediter- 
ranean had  become  a  "  Phoenician  lake,"  in  which,  as  the  Cartha- 
ginians boasted,  no  one  dared  wash  his  hands  without  their 
permission. 

257.  Rome  and  Carthage  compared.  These  two  rival  cities 
were  now  about  to  begin  one  of  the  most  memorable  struggles  of 
antiquity.  In  material  power  and  resources  they  seemed  well 
matched  as  antagonists ;  yet  Rome  had  elements  of  strength,  hid- 
den in  the  character  of  her  citizens  and  embodied  in  the  principles 
of  her  government,  which  Carthage  did  not  possess.  The  Cartha- 
ginian government  was  a  despotic  oligarchy.  The  many  different 
races  of  the  empire  were  held  in  an  artificial  union  by  force  alone, 
for  the  Carthaginians  had  none  of  the  genius  of  the  Romans  for 
political  organizatif)n  and  state  building.  The  Roman  state,  on 
the  other  hand,  as  we  have  learned,  was  the  most  wonderful  politi- 
cal organism  that  the  world  had  ever  seen.  It  was  not  yet  a 
nation,  but   it  was   rapidly  growing  into  one.    Every    free   man 

172 


§258]  CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  173 

within  its  limits  was  either  a  citizen  of  Rome  or  was  on  the  way 
to  becoming  a  citizen.  Rome  was  already  the  common  fatherland 
of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  men. 

Again,  the  Carthaginian  territories,  though  of  great  extent,  were 
widely  scattered,  while  the  Roman  domains  were  compact  and 
confined  to  a  single  and  easily  defended  peninsula. 

As  to  the  naval  resources  of  the  two  states,  there  existed  at 
the  beginning  of  the  struggle  no  basis  for  a  comparison.  The 
Romans  were  almost  destitute  of  anything  that  could  be  called 
a  war  navy,  and  were  practically  without  experience  in  naval 
warfare;  while  the  Carthaginians  possessed  the  largest,  the  best- 
manned,  and  the  most  splendidly  equipped  fleet  that  had  ever 
patrolled  the  waters  of  the  ISIediterranean. 

258.  Causes  of  the  Struggle  ;  the  Naval  Character  of  its 
First  Phase.  The  real  causes  of  the  long  wars  between  Rome  and 
Carthage  were  commercial  jealousy  and  rivalry  for  the  control  of 
the  western  Mediterranean,  particularly  of  the  island  of  Sicily. 
In  its  earlier  period  the  struggle  was  a  series  of  naval  combats,  the 
Romans  having  hastily  built  a  great  fleet  of  war  galleys  patterned 
after  the  Carthaginian  ships.  After  a  single  great  naval  victory 
and  many  tragic  disasters,  the  Romans  finally  succeeded  in  inflict- 
ing upon  the  Carthaginians  a  decisive  naval  defeat.  Carthage 
now  sued  for  peace. 

259.  Terms  of  the  Treaty  ;  Transfer  of  Sea  Power.  A  treaty 
was  at  length  arranged,  the  terms  of  which  required  that  Carthage 
should  give  up  all  claims  to  the  island  of  Sicily,  surrender  all 
her  prisoners,  and  pay  an  indemnity  of  3200  talents  (about 
$4,000,000),  one  third  of  which  was  to  be  paid  down,  and  the 
balance  in  ten  yearly  payments.  Thus  ended  (241  B.C.),  after  a 
continuance  of  twenty-four  years,  the  first  great  struggle  between 
Carthage  and  Rome. 

One  important  result  of  the  war  was  the  crippling  of  the  sea 
power  of  the  Phoenician  race,  which  from  time  immemorial  had 
been  a  most  prominent  factor  in  the  history  of  the  Mediterranean 
lands,  and  the  giving  practically  of  the  control  of  the  sea  into  the 
hands  of  the  Romans. 


174  EXPANSION  OF  ROME  [§260 

II.  THE  SECOND  PUNIC  WAR  (21S-201  b.c.) 

260.  The  Carthaginians  in  Spain.  After  the  disastrous  ending 
of  the  First  Punic  War,  the  Carthaginians  sought  to  repair  their 
losses  by  new  conquests  in  Spain.  Hamilcar  Barca,  an  able  com- 
mander, was  sent  over  into  that  country,  and  for  nine  years  he 
devoted  his  commanding  genius  to  organizing  the  different  Iberian 
tribes  into  a  compact  state  and  to  developing  the  rich  gold  and 
silver  mines  of  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula.  He  fell  in 
battle  228  B.C. 

As  a  rule,  genius  is  not  transmitted ;  but  in  the  Barcine  family 
the  rule  was  broken,  and  the  rare  genius  of  Hamilcar  reappeared 
in  his  sons,  whom  he  himself,  it  is  said,  was  fond  of  calling  the 
"lion's  brood."  As  Hannibal,  the  eldest,  was  only  nineteen  at  the 
time  of  his  father's  death,  and  thus  too  young  to  assume  com- 
mand, Hasdrubal,  the  son-in-law  of  Hamilcar,  was  chosen  to 
succeed  him. 

Upon  the  death  of  Hasdrubal,  which  occurred  221  B.C.,  Hanni- 
bal, now  twenty-six  years  of  age,  was  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
the  army  called  to  be  its  leader.  When  a  child  of  nine  years  he 
had  been  led  by  his  father  to  the  altar,  and  there,  with  his  hands 
upon  the  sacrifice,  the  little  boy  had  sworn  eternal  hatred  to  the 
Roman  race.  He  was  driven  on  to  his  gigantic  undertakings  and 
to  his  hard  fate  not  only  by  the  restless  fires  of  his  warlike  genius 
but,  as  he  himself  declared,  by  the  sacred  obligations  of  a  vow 
that  could  not  be  broken. 

Hannibal  having  laid  siege  to  Saguntum, —  a  native  city  upon 
the  east  coast  of  Spain  which  the  Romans  had  taken  under  their 
protection, —  the  Senate  sent  messengers  to  him  forbidding  him  to 
make  war  upon  a  city  that  was  an  ally  of  the  Roman  people ; 
but  Hannibal,  disregarding  their  remonstrances,  continued  the 
siege  and  finally  gained  possession  of  the  town. 

The  Romans  now  sent  commissioners  to  Carthage  to  demand 
of  the  Senate  that  they  give  up  Hannibal  to  them,  and  by  so 
doing  repudiate  the  act  of  their  general.  The  Carthaginians  hesi- 
tated.   Then  Quintus  Fabius,  chief  of  the  embassy,  gathering  up 


§261] 


FABIUS  "THE  DELAYER" 


175 


his  toga,  said:  "I  carry  here  peace  and  war;  choose,  men  of 
Carthage,  which  ye  will  have."  "Give  us  whichever  ye  will,"  was 
the  reply.   "War,  then,"  said  Fabius,  dropping  his  toga. 

261.  Hannibal's  Passage  of  the  Alps.  The  Carthaginian  em- 
pire was  now  all  astir  with  preparations  for  the  mighty  struggle. 
Hannibal's  bold  plan  was  to  cross  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps  and 
descend  upon  Rome  from  the  north.  Early  in  the  spring  of  218  B.C. 
he  set  out  from  New  Carthage  with  an  army  numbering  about  a 
hundred  thousand  men,  and  including  .^^^^ 
thirty-seven  war  elephants.  Traversing 
northern  Spain  and  crossing  the 
Pyrenees  and  the  Rhone,  he  reached 
the  foothills  of  the  Alps.  The  season 
was  already  far  advanced, —  it  was 
October, — and  snow  was  falling  upon 
the  higher  portions  of  the  trail,  so  that 
the  passage  of  the  mountains  was  ac- 
complished only  after  severe  toil  and 
losses.  At  length  the  thinned  columns, 
numbering  barely  twenty-six  thousand 
men,  defiled  upon  the  plains  of  the  Po. 
This  was  the  pitiable  force  with  which 
Hannibal  proposed  to  attack  the  Roman  state,- 
this  time  had  on  its  levy  lists  over  seven  hundred  thousand  foot 
soldiers  and  seventy  thousand  horse. 

262.  Fabius  "the  Delayer."  In  three  successive  battles  the 
Romans  were  defeated  and  their  armies  virtually  destroyed.  The 
way  to  Rome  was  now  open.  Believing  that  Hannibal  would 
march  directly  upon  the  city,  the  Senate  caused  the  bridges  that 
spanned  the  Tiber  to  be  destroyed,  and  appointed  Fabius  ]\Iaximus 
dictator.  Fabius  "saved  the  state  by  wise  delay."  Realizing  that 
to  risk  a  battle  and  lose  it  would  be  to  lose  everything,  he  adopted 
the  more  prudent  policy  of  following  and  annoying  with  a  small 
force  the  Carthaginian  army,  but  refusing  all  proffers  of  battle. 
By  this  policy  time  was  gained  for  raising  a  new  army  and  per- 
fecting measures  for  the  public  defense. 


Fig.  66.    Hannibal 


-a  state  that  at 


176  EXPANSION  OF  ROME  [§263 

263.  The  Battle  of  Cannae  (216B.C.).  Early  in  the  summer 
of  the  year  216  B.C.  the  new  levies,  numbering  eighty  thousand 
men,  under  the  command  of  recently  chosen  consuls,  confronted 
the  army  of  Hannibal,  amounting  to  not  more  than  half  that  num- 
ber, at  Cannce,  on  the  banks  of  the  Aufidus,  in  Apulia.  Here  the 
Romans  suffered  a  tragic  defeat.  From  forty  to  seventy  thousand 
are  said  to  have  been  slain  ;  only  a  handful  escaped.  The  slaughter 
was  so  great  that,  according  to  Livy,  when  Mago,  a  brother  of 
Hannibal,  carried  the  news  of  the  victory  to  Carthage,  he,  in 
confirmation  of  the  intelligence,  poured  out  on  the  floor  of  the 
senate  house  nearly  a  peck  of  gold  rings  taken  from  the  fingers 
of  Roman  knights. 

264.  Hasdrubal  attempts  to  carry  Aid  to  his  Brother  ;  Battle 
of  the  Metaurus  (207  B.C.).  For  almost  a  decade  after  the  battle 
of  Cannae  the  war  went  on  with  many  vicissitudes.  During  all 
these  years,  while  Hannibal  was  waging  war  in  Italy,  his  brother 
Hasdrubal  was  carrying  on  a  desperate  struggle  with  the  Roman 
armies  in  Spain.  At  length  he  determined  to  leave  the  conduct  of 
the  war  in  that  country  to  others  and  go  to  the  relief  of  his  brother, 
who  now  was  sadly  in  need  of  aid.  He  followed  the  same  route 
that  had  been  taken  by  Hannibal,  and  in  the  year  207  B.C. 
descended  from  the  Alps  upon  the  plains  of  Northern  Italy.  Thence 
he  advanced  southward,  while  Hannibal  moved  northward  from 
Bruttium  to  join  him.  At  the  river  Metaurus,  HasdrubaFs  march 
was  blocked  by  a  large  Roman  army.  Here  his  forces  were  cut  to 
pieces,  and  he  himself  was  slain.  His  head  was  severed  from  his 
body  and  sent  to  Hannibal.  Upon  recognizing  the  features  of  his 
brother,  Hannibal,  it  is  said,  exclaimed  sadly,  "Carthage,  I  read 
thy  fate." 

265.  The  Romans  carry  the  War  into  Africa;  Battle  of  Zama 
(202  B.C.).  Hannibal  now  drew  back  into  the  rocky  peninsula 
of  Bruttium.  No  one  dared  attack  him.  It  was  resolved  to  carry 
the  war  into  Africa,  in  the  hope  that  the  Carthaginians  would 
be  forced  to  call  their  great  commander  out  of  Italy  to  the  de- 
fense of  Carthage.  The  consul  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio  led  the 
army  of  invasion.    He  had  not  been  long  in  Africa  before  the 


§266]  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR  177 

Carthaginian  senate  sent  for  Hannibal.  At  Zama,  not  far  from 
Carthage,  the  hostile  armies  met.  Hannibal  here  suffered  his 
first  and  last  defeat. 

266.  The  Close  of  the  War  (201  B.C.).  Carthage  was  now 
completely  exhausted  and  sued  for  peace.  The  terms  of  the  treaty 
were  much  severer  than  those  imposed  upon  the  city  at  the  end 
of  the  First  Punic  War.  She  was  required  to  give  up  all  claims 
to  Spain  and  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  to  surrender  her 
war  elephants  and  all  her  ships  of  war  save  ten  galleys ;  to  pay 
an  indemnity  of  four  thousand  talents  (about  $5,000,000)  at  once, 
and  two  hundred  talents  annually  for  fifty  years ;  and  not,  under 
any  circumstances,  to  make  war  upon  an  ally  of  Rome.  Five 
hundred  of  the  costly  Phoenician  war  galleys  were  towed  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Carthage  and  burned. 

Such  was  the  end  of  the  Hannibalic  War,  as  it  was  called  by  the 
Romans.  Scipio  was  accorded  a  grand  triumph  at  Rome,  and  in 
honor  of  his  achievements  given  the  surname  Ajricanus. 

267.  Effects  of  the  War  on  Italy.  Italy  never  entirely  recov- 
ered from  the  calamitous  effects  of  this  war.  Agriculture  in  some 
districts  was  almost  ruined.  The  peasantry  had  been  torn  from 
the  soil  and  driven  within  the  walled  towns.  The  slave  class  had 
increased,  and  the  estates  of  the  great  landowners  had  constantly 
grown  in  size  and  absorbed  the  little  holdings  of  the  ruined 
peasants.  In  thus  destroying  the  Italian  peasantry,  Hannibal's 
invasion  and  long  occupancy  of  the  peninsula  did  very  much  to 
aggravate  all  those  economic  evils  which  even  before  this  time 
were  at  work  undermining  the  earlier  sound  industrial  life  of  the 
Romans,  and  filling  Italy  with  a  numerous  and  dangerous  class 
of  homeless  and  discontented  men. 

III.  EXPANSION  OF  ROME  INTO  THE  EAST 

268.  Introductory.  The  terms  imposed  upon  Carthage  at  the 
end  of  the  Second  Punic  War  left  Rome  mistress  of  the  western 
Mediterranean.  During  the  eventful  half  century  that  elapsed 
between  the  close  of  that  struggle  and  the  breaking  out  of  the 


178  EXPANSION  OF  ROME  [§269 

Third  Punic  War  her  authority  became  supreme  also  in  the  east- 
ern Mediterranean.  In  an  earlier  chapter,  in  which  we  narrated  the 
fortunes  of  the  most  important  states  into  which  the  great  empire 
of  Alexander  was  broken  at  his  death,  we  followed  their  several 
histories  until,  one  after  another,  they  fell  beneath  the  arms  of 
Rome,  and  were  absorbed  into  her  growing  dominions  (Chapter 
XIX).  We  shall  therefore  in  this  place  speak  only  of  the  effects 
upon  Rome  of  these  conquests. 

269.  Reaction  of  the  East  upon  Rome.  In  entering  Greece 
the  Romans  had  entered  the  homeland  of  Greek  culture,  with 
which  they  had  first  come  in  close  contact  in  Magna  Gracia.  This 
culture  was  in  many  respects  vastly  superior  to  their  own,  and  for 
this  reason  it  exerted  a  profound  influence  upon  life  and  thought 
at  Rome.  Greek  manners  and  customs,  Greek  modes  of  education, 
and  Greek  literature  and  philosophy  became  the  fashion  at  Rome, 
so  that  Roman  society  seemed  in  a  fair  way  of  becoming  Hellen- 
ized.  And  to  a  certain  degree  this  did  take  place.  So  many  and 
so  important  were  the  elements  of  Greek  culture  which  in  the 
process  of  time  were  taken  up  and  absorbed  by  the  Romans 
that  there  ceased  to  be  such  a  thing  in  the  world  as  a  pure 
Latin  civilization.  We  recognize  this  intimate  blending  of  the 
cultures  of  the  two  great  peoples  of  classical  antiquity  when  we 
speak  of  the  civilization  of  the  later  Roman  Empire  as  being 
Groeco- Roman. 

But  along  with  the  many  helpful  elements  of  culture  which  the 
Romans  received  from  the  East,  they  received  also  many  germs 
of  great  social  and  moral  evils.  Life  in  Greece  and  in  the  Orient 
had  become  degenerate  and  corrupt.  Close  communication  with 
this  society,  in  union  with  other  influences  which  we  shall  notice 
later,  corrupted  life  at  Rome.  "To  learn  Greek  is  to  learn  knav- 
ery" became  a  proverb.  The  simplicity  and  frugality  of  the  earlier 
times  were  replaced  by  oriental  extravagance,  luxury,  and  disso- 
luteness. Evidences  of  this  decline  in  the  moral  life  of  the  Romans, 
the  presage  of  the  downfall  of  the  Republic,  will  multiply  as  we 
advance  in  our  narrative. 


§270]      "CARTHAGE  SHOULD  BE  DESTROYED"         179 
IV.  THE  THIRD  PUNIC  WAR  (149-146   B.C.) 

270.  "Carthage  should  be  destroyed."  In  the  course  of  two 
or  three  decades  after  the  close  of  the  Second  Punic  War,  Carthage 
regained  much  of  her  earlier  prosperity.  Now  it  happened  that 
the  chief  of  a  Roman  embassy  sent  to  Carthage  to  conduct  certain 
negotiations  was  Marcus  Cato,  the  Censor.  When  he  saw  the  pros- 
perity of  Carthage, — her  immense  trade,  which  crowded  her  harbor 
with  ships,  and  the  country  for  miles  back  of  the  city  a  beautiful 
landscape  of  gardens  and  villas, — he  was  amazed  at  the  growing 
power  and  wealth  of  the  city,  and  returned  home  convinced  that 
the  safety  of  Rome  demanded  the  destruction  of  her  rival.  All  of 
his  addresses  after  this  —  no  matter  on  what  subject — he  is  said 
invariably  to  have  closed  with  the  declaration,  "Moreover,  Car- 
thage should  be  destroyed." 

A  pretext  for  destroying  the  city  was  not  long  wanting.  Charg- 
ing the  Carthaginians  with  having  broken  the  conditions  of  the 
last  treaty, —  they  had  broken  the  mere  letter  of  it, —  the  Romans 
laid  siege  to  Carthage.  For  four  years  the  city  held  out  against 
the  Roman  army.  At  length  the  consul  Scipio  ^milianus^  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  it  by  storm.  The  city  was  literally  erased.  Every 
trace  of  building  which  fire  could  not  destroy  was  leveled,  a  plough 
was  driven  over  the  site,  and  a  dreadful  curse  invoked  upon  any- 
one who  should  dare  attempt  to  rebuild  the  city. 

Such  was  the  hard  fate  of  Carthage.  Polybius,  who  was  an  eye- 
witness of  the  destruction  of  the  city,  records  that  Scipio,  as  he 
gazed  upon  the  smoldering  ruins,  seemed  to  read  in  them  the  fate 
of  Rome,  and,  bursting  into  tears,  sadly  repeated  the  lines  of 
Homer : 

The  day  shall  be  when  holy  Troy  shall  fall 
And  Priam,  lord  of  spears,  and  Priam's  folk.'- 

The  Carthaginian  territory  in  Africa  was  made  into  a  Roman 
province,  with  Utica  as  the  leading  city  :  and  by  means  of  traders 

1  Grandson  by  adoption  of  Scipio  Africanus,  the  conqueror  of  Hannibal.  After  his 
conquest  of  Carthage  he  was  known  as  Africanus  Minor.  -  Iliad,  vi.  448. 


i8o  EXPANSION  OF  ROME  [^271 

and  settlers  Roman  civilization  was  spread  rapidly  throughout  the 
regions  that  lie  between  the  ranges  of  the  Atlas  and  the  sea. 

271.  The  Significance  of  Rome's  Triumph  over  Carthage. 
The  triumph  of  Rome  over  Carthage  may  perhaps  rightly  be  given 
as  prominent  a  place  in  history  as  the  triumph,  more  than  three 
centuries  before,  of  Greece  over  Persia.  In  each  case  Europe  was 
saved  from  the  threatened  danger  of  becoming  practically  a  mere 
dependency  or  extension  of  Asia. 

The  Semitic  Carthaginians  had  not  the  political  aptitude  and 
moral  energy  that  characterized  the  Italians  and  the  other  Aryan 
peoples  of  Europe.  Their  civilization  was  lacking  in  elements  of 
growth  and  expansion.  Had  this  civilization  been  spread  by  con- 
quest throughout  Europe,  the  germs  of  political,  literary,  artistic, 
and  religious  life  among  the  Aryans  of  the  continent  might  have 
been  smothered,  and  their  history  have  been  rendered  as  barren 
in  political  and  intellectual  interest  as  the  later  history  of  the 
races  of  the  Orient. 

It  is  these  considerations  which  justify  the  giving  of  the  battle 
of  the  IMetaurus,  which  marks  the  real  turning  point  in  the  long 
struggle  between  Rome  and  Carthage,  a  place  along  with  the  battle 
of  Marathon  in  the  short  list  of  the  really  decisive  battles  of  the 
world, — battles  which,  determining  the  trend  of  great  currents  of 
history,  have  decided  the  fate  of  races,  of  continents,  and  of 
civilizations. 

References.  Poi.ybius,  i,  10-63  (for  an  account  of  the  First  Punic  War) ; 
xxxix,  3-5  (the  fall  of  Carthage ;  it  should  be  remembered  that  Polybius  here 
writes  as  an  eye-witness  of  the  scenes  that  he  describes).  Pi.urARrn,  Fobius 
Maximus  and  Marcus  Cato.  MoMMSKN,  T.,  vol.  ii,  bk.  iii,  chaps,  i-xiv. 
Pf.i.ham,  n.  F.,  Outlines  of  Roviati  I/istoiy,  bk.  iii,  chaps,  i-iii.  Smith,  R.  B., 
Ca7ihn£^e  and  the  Carthai^inians  and  Rome  and  Carihage.  DoDGK,  T.  A., 
Hannibal.  Morris,  W.  O.,  Hannibal.  Chirch,  A.  J.,  Story  of  Carthage 
(interesting  for  younger  clas.ses).  Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World, 
chap,  iv,  "  The  Battle  of  the  Metaurus." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

(133-31  B.C.) 

272.  Introductory.  We  have  now  traced  in  broad  outlines  the 
development  of  the  institutions  of  republican  Rome,  and  have  told 
briefly  the  story  of  that  wonderful  career  of  conquest  which  made 
the  little  Palatine  city  first  the  mistress  of  Latium,  then  of  Italy, 
and  finally  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Mediterranean  world.  In 
the  present  chapter  we  shall  follow  the  declining  fortunes  of  the 
Republic  through  the  last  century  of  its  existence.  During  this 
time  many  agencies  were  at  work  undermining  the  institutions  of 
the  Republic  and  paving  the  way  for  the  Empire.  What  these 
agencies  were  will  best  be  made  apparent  by  a  simple  narration  of 
the  events  that  crowd  this  memorable  period  of  Roman  history. 

273.  The  First  Servile  War  in  Sicily  (134-132  B.C.).  With 
the  opening  of  this  period  we  find  a  terrible  struggle  going  on  in 
Sicily  between  masters  and  slaves, — what  is  known  as  the  First 
Servile  War.  The  condition  of  affairs  in  that  island  was  the 
outgrowth  of  the  Roman  system  of  slavery. 

The  captives  that  the  Romans  took  in  war  they  usually  sold 
into  servitude.  The  great  number  furnished  by  their  numerous 
conquests  had  caused  slaves  to  become  a  drug  in  the  slave  markets 
of  the  Mediterranean  world.  They  were  so  cheap  that  masters 
found  it  more  profitable  to  wear  their  slaves  out  by  a  few  years  of 
unmercifully  hard  labor  and  then  to  buy  others  than  to  preserve 
their  lives  for  a  longer  period  by  more  humane  treatment.  In  case 
of  sickness  they  were  often  left  to  die  without  attention,  as  the 
expense  of  nursing  exceeded  the  cost  of  new  purchases.  Some 
estates  were  worked  by  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  slaves. 

The  wretched  condition  of  the  slaves  in  Sicily,  where  the  slave 
system  exhibited  some  of  its  worst  features,  at  last  drove  them  to 

iSi 


1 82        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC    [§274 

revolt.  The  insurrection  spread  throughout  the  island  until  two 
hundred  thousand  slaves  were  in  arms — if  axes,  reaping  hooks, 
staves,  and  roasting  spits  may  be  called  arms.  They  defeated 
four  Roman  armies  sent  against  them,  and  for  three  years  defied 
the  power  of  Rome.  Finally,  however,  in  the  year  132  b.c,  the 
revolt  was  crushed,  and  peace  was  restored  to  the  distracted 
island. 

274.  The  Public  Lands.  In  Italy  itself  affairs  were  in  a  hardly 
less  wretched  condition  than  in  Sicily.  At  the  bottom  of  a  large 
part  of  the  social  and  economic  troubles  here  was  the  public-land 
system.  By  law  or  custom  those  portions  of  the  public  lands 
which  remained  unsold  or  unallotted  as  homesteads  were  open  to 
anyone  to  till  or  to  pasture.  In  return  for  such  use  of  the  public 
land  the  user  paid  the  state  usually  a  fifth  or  a  tenth  of  the  yearly 
produce.  Persons  who  availed  themselves  of  this  privilege  were 
called  possessors  or  occupiers;  we  should  call  them  "squatters" 
or  "tenants  at  will." 

Now  it  had  happened  that,  in  various  ways,  the  greater  part 
of  these  public  lands  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  wealthy. 
They  alone  had  the  capital  necessary  to  stock  with  cattle  and  slaves 
the  new  lands,  and  hence  they  were  the  sole  occupiers  of  them. 
The  small  farmers  everywhere,  too,  were  being  ruined  by  the  unfair 
competition  of  slave  labor,  and  their  little  holdings  were  passing 
by  purchase,  and  often  by  fraud  or  barefaced  robbery,  into  the 
hands  of  the  great  proprietors.  The  greater  part  of  the  lands  of 
Italy,  about  the  beginning  of  the  first  century  B.C.,  are  said  to  have 
been  held  by  not  more  than  two  thousand  persons.  Thus,  largely 
through  the  workings  of  the  public-land  system,  the  Roman  people 
had  become  divided  into  two  great  classes, —  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
the  possessors  and  the  non-possessors. 

275.  The  Reforms  of  the  Gracchi.  The  most  noted  champions 
of  the  cause  of  the  poorer  classes  against  the  rich  and  powerful 
were  Tiberius  and  Gains  Cracchus.  These  reformers  are  reckoned 
among  the  most  popular  orators  that  Rome  ever  produced.  They 
eloquently  voiced  the  wrongs  of  the  people.  Said  Tiberius,  "You 
are  called  'lords  of  the  earth'  without  possessing  a  single  clod  to 


§276]  THE  SOCIAL  WAR  183 

call  your  own."  The  people  made  him  tribune  (134-133  B.C.); 
and  in  that  position  he  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  for  the 
redistribution  of  the  public  lands,  which  gave  some  relief. 

As  the  end  of  his  term  of  office  drew  near,  Tiberius  stood  again 
for  the  tribunate.  The  aristocrats  combined  to  defeat  him.  It 
came  to  riot  and  street  fighting.  The  partisans  of  Tiberius  were 
overpowered,  and  he  and  three  hundred  of  his  followers  were  killed 
in  the  f^orum  and  their  bodies  thrown  into  the  Tiber.  This  was  the 
first  time  that  the  Roman  Forum  had  witnessed  such  a  scene  of 
violence  and  crime. 

Gains  Gracchus  now  came  forward  to  assume  the  position  made 
vacant  by  the  death  of  his  brother  Tiberius.  The  people  elected 
him  tribune.  As  tribune  he  won  the  affection  of  the  poor  of  the 
city  by  carrying  a  law  which  provided  that  every  Roman  citizen, 
on  personal  application,  should  be  given  corn  from  the  public 
granaries  at  half  or  less  than  half  the  market  price.  Gaius  could 
not  have  foreseen  all  the  evils  to  which  this  law  was  to  lead.  It 
led  eventually  to  the  free  distribution  of  corn  to  all  citizens  who 
made  application  for  it.  Very  soon  a  large  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Rome  was  living  in  idleness  and  feeding  at  the  public 
crib  (sect.  352). 

Other  measures  in  the  interest  of  the  people  proposed  by  Gaius 
were  bitterly  opposed  by  the  aristocrats,  and  the  two  orders  at 
last  came  into  collision.  Gaius  sought  death  by  a  friendly  sword, 
and  three  thousand  of  his  adherents  were  massacred. 

The  common  people  ever  regarded  the  Gracchi  as  martyrs,  and 
their  memory  was  preserved  in  later  times  by  statues  in  the  pub- 
lic square.  To  Cornelia,  their  mother,  a  monument  was  erected, 
bearing  the  simple  inscription,  "The  Mother  of  the  Gracchi." 

276.  The  Social  War  (91-89  B.C.).  At  the  opening  of  the  last 
century  B.C.  all  the  free  inhabitants  of  Italy  were  embraced  in 
three  classes, —  Roman  citizens,  Latins,  and  Italian  allies.  The 
Roman  citizens  included  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital,  of  certain 
towns  called  municipia,  and  of  the  Roman  colonies  (sect.  255), 
besides  the  dwellers  on  isolated  farms  and  the  inhabitants  of 
villages    scattered    everywhere    throughout     Italy.     The    Latins 


i84        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC     [^277 

comprised  the  inhabitants  of  the  Latin  colonies.  The  ItaHan  allies 
were  those  conquered  peoples  that  Rome  had  excluded  wholly  from 
the  rights  of  the  city. 

The  Social  War  was  a  struggle  that  arose  from  the  demands  of 
the  Italian  allies  for  the  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship.  Their 
demands  being  stubbornly  resisted  by  both  the  aristocratic  and 
the  popular  party  at  Rome,  they  took  up  arms,  resolved  upon  the 
establishment  of  a  rival  state.  A  town  called  Corfinium,  among 
the  Apennines,  was  chosen  as  the  capital  of  the  new  republic,  and 
its  name  changed  to  Italica.  Thus  in  a  single  day  a  large  part  of 
Italy  south  of  the  Rubicon  was  lost  to  Rome. 

Aristocrats  and  democrats  now  hushed  their  quarrels  and  fought 
bravely  side  by  side  for  the  endangered  life  of  the  Republic.  The 
war  lasted  three  years,  and  was  finally  brought  to  an  end  rather 
by  prudent  concessions  on  the  part  of  Rome  than  by  fighting.  In 
the  year  90  b.c,  alarmed  by  signs  of  disaffection  in  certain  of  the 
communities  that  up  to  this  time  had  remained  faithful,  Rome 
granted  the  franchise  of  the  city  to  all  Italian  communities  that 
had  not  declared  war  against  her  or  had  already  laid  down  their 
arms.  The  following  year  the  full  rights  of  the  city  were  offered 
to  all  Italians  who  should  within  two  months  appear  before  a 
Roman  magistrate  and  express  a  wish  for  the  franchise.  This 
tardy  concession  to  the  just  demands  of  the  Italians  virtually 
ended  the  war.^ 

277.  Comments  on  the  Political  Results  of  the  Social  War. 
Thus  as  an  outcome  of  the  war  practically  all  the  freemen  of  Italy 
south  of  the  Po  were  made  equal  in  civil  and  political  rights.  This 
was  a  matter  of  great  significance.  "  The  enrollment  of  the  Italians 
among  her  own  citizens  deserves  to  be  regarded,"  declares  the 
historian  Merivale,  "as  the  greatest  stroke  of  policy  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  Republic."  This  wholesale  enfranchisement  of  Latin 
and  Italian  allies  more  than  doubled  the  number  of  Roman  citizens. 

This  equalization  of  the  different  classes  of  the  Italian  peninsula 
was  simply  a  later  phase  of  that  movement  in  early  Rome  which 

'  After  the  close  of  the  war  the  riphts  tliat  up  to  this  time  h.id  hecn  enjoyed  by  the 
Latin  towns  were  conferred  upon  all  the  cities  between  the  I'o  and  the  Alps. 


§277]  POLITICAL  RESULTS  OF  THE  SOCIAL  WAR      185 

resulted  in  the  equalization  of  the  two  orders  of  the  patricians  and 
the  plebeians.  But  the  purely  political  results  of  the  earlier  and 
.  those  of  the  later  revolution  were  very  different.  At  the  earlier 
time  those  who  demanded  and  received  the  franchise  were  persons 
living  either  in  Rome  or  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  consequently 
able  to  exercise  the  acquired  right  to  vote  and  to  hold  office. 

But  now  it  was  very  different.  These  new-made  citizens  were 
living  in  towns  and  villages  or  on  farms  scattered  all  over  Italy, 
and  of  course  very  few  of  them  could  ever  go  to  Rome,  either  to 
participate  in  the  elections  there,  to  vote  on  proposed  legislation, 
or  to  become  candidates  for  the  Roman  magistracies.  Hence  the 
rights  they  had  acquired  were,  after  all,  politically  barren.  But 
no  one  was  to  blame  for  this  state  of  things.  Rome  had  simply 
outgrown  her  city  constitution  and  her  system  of  primary  assem- 
blies (sect.  233).  She  needed  for  her  widening  empire  a  representa- 
tive system  like  ours ;  but  representation  was  a  political  device  far 
away  from  the  thoughts  of  the  men  of  those  times. 

As  a  result  of  the  impossibility  of  the  Roman  citizens  outside  of 
Rome  taking  part,  as  a  general  thing,  in  the  meetings  of  the  popu- 
lar assemblies  at  the  capital,  the  offices  of  the  state  fell  into  the 
hands  of  those  actually  living  in  Rome  or  settled  in  its  immediate 
neighborhood.  Since  the  free,  or  practically  free,  distribution  of 
corn  and  the  public  shows  were  drawing  to  the  capital  from  all 
quarters  crowds  of  the  poor,  the  idle,  and  the  vicious,  these  assem- 
blies were  rapidly  becoming  simply  mobs  controlled  by  noisy 
demagogues  and  unscrupulous  military  leaders  aiming  at  the 
supreme  power  in  the  state. 

This  situation  brought  about  a  serious  division  in  the  body  of 
Roman  citizens.  Those  of  the  capital  came  to  regard  themselves 
as  the  real  rulers  of  the  empire,  as  they  actually  were,  and  looked 
with  disdain  upon  those  living  in  the  other  cities  and  the  remoter 
districts  of  the  peninsula.  They  alone  reaped  the  fruits  of  the 
conquered  world.  At  the  same  time  the  mass  of  outside  passive 
citizens,  as  we  may  call  them,  came  to  look  with  jealousy  upon 
this  body  of  pampered  aristocrats,  rich  speculators,  and  ragged, 
dissolute  clients  and  hangers-on  at   Rome.    They  became  quite 


i86        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  RErUBLIC     [§278 

reconciled  to  the  thought  of  power  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  such 
a  crowd  and  into  the  hands  of  a  single  man.  The  feelings  of  men 
everywhere  were  being  prepared  for  the  revolution  that  was  to 
overthrow  the  Republic  and  bring  in  the  Empire. 

278.  Marius  and  Sulla  contend  for  Command  in  a  War 
against  Mithradates.  While  the  Social  War  was  still  in  progress 
in  Italy  a  formidable  enemy  of  Rome  appeared  in  the  East. 
Mithradates  \T,  surnamed  the  Great,  king  of  Pontus,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  distracted  condition  of  the  Republic,  had  encroached 

upon  the  Roman  possessions  in  Asia 
Minor,  had  caused  a  general  massacre  of 
the  Italian  traders  and  residents  in.  that 
country,  and  had  persuaded  many  of  the 
cities  in  Greece  to  renounce  the  authority 
of  Rome.  The  Roman  Senate  now  be- 
stirred itself.  An  army  was  raised  for 
the  recovery  of  the  Orient.  Straightway 
Fh;.  67.  MiTUKADATKs  ^  contest  arosc  between  Gaius  Marius,  an 
THE  Gre.vt.  (Coin)  able  commander  who  had  risen  from  the 
lowest  ranks  of  the  people,  and  a  noble- 
man named  Sulla,  for  the  command  of  the  forces.  The  Senate  con- 
ferred this  upon  Sulla,  who  at  that  time  was  consul.  INIarius  was 
furious.  By  violent  means  he  succeeded  in  carrying  a  measure  in 
an  assembly  of  the  people  whereby  the  command  was  taken  away 
from  Sulla  and  given  to  him.  Sulla  now  saw  that  the  sword 
must  settle  the  dispute.  He  marched  at  the  head  of  his  legions 
upon  Rome,  entered  the  gates,  and  "  for  the  first  time  in  the  an- 
nals of  the  city  a  Roman  army  encamped  within  the  walls."  The 
party  of  Marius  was  defeated,  and  he  and  ten  of  his  companions 
were  proscribed.  Sulla  soon  embarked  with  the  legions  to  meet 
Mithradates  in  the  East  (88  B.C.).' 

279.  Marius  massacres  the  Aristocrats  (s?  B.C.).  Returning 
from  Africa,  whither  he  had  lied,  Marius  joined  the  consul  Cinna 
in  an  attempt  to  crush  by  force  the  senatorial  party.  Rome  was 
cut  off  from  her  food  supplies  and  starved  into  submission.    Marius 

'  This  was  what  is  known  as  the  First  Mithradatic  War  (S8-84  u.  c). 


§280]  THE  PROSCRIPTIONS  OF  SULLA  187 

now  took  a  terrible  revenge  upon  his  enemies.  The  consul  Gnseus 
Octavius,  who  represented  the  aristocrats,  was  assassinated,  and 
his  head  set  up  in  front  of  the  Rostra.  Never  before  had  such  a 
thing  been  seen  at  Rome, — a  consul's  head  exposed  to  the  public 
gaze.  For  five  days  and  nights  a  merciless  slaughter  was  kept  up. 
The  life  of  every  man  in  the  capital  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
revengeful  Marius.  As  a  fitting  sequel  to  all  this  violence,  Marius 
and  Cinna  were,  in  an  entirely  illegal  way,  declared  consuls. 
Marius  was  now  consul  for  the  seventh  time.  He  enjoyed  his 
seventh  consulship  only  thirteen  days,  being  carried  away  by 
death  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age  (86  b.c). 

280.  The  Proscriptions  of  Sulla  (82  B.C.).  With  the  Mithra- 
datic  war  ended,  Sulla  wrote  to  the  Senate,  saying  that  he  was 
now  coming  to  take  vengeance  upon  the  Marian  party, — his  own 
and  the  Republic's  foes.  Landing  with  his  army  in  Italy,  Sulla, 
after  much  hard  fighting,  entered  Rome  with  all  the  powers  of 
a  dictator.  The  leaders  of  the  Marian  party  were  proscribed, 
rewards  were  offered  for  their  heads,  and  their  property  was  con- 
fiscated. Sulla  was  implored  to  make  out  a  list  of  those  he 
designed  to  put  to  death,  that  those  he  intended  to  spare  might  be 
relieved  of  the  terrible  suspense  in  which  all  were  now  held.  He 
made  out  a  list  of  eighty,  which  was  attached  to  the  Rostra.  The 
people  murmured  at  the  length  of  the  roll.  In  a  few  days  it  was 
extended  to  over  three  hundred,  and  then  grew  rapidly  until  it 
included  the  names  of  thousands  of  the  best  citizens  of  Italy. 
Hundreds  were  murdered  simply  because  some  favorites  of  Sulla 
coveted  their  estates.  A  wealthy  noble,  coming  into  the  Forum 
and  reading  his  own  name  in  the  list  of  the  proscribed,  exclaimed, 
''Alas!  my  villa  has  proved  my  ruin."  Julius  Caesar,  at  this  time 
a  mere  boy  of  eighteen,  was  proscribed  on  account  of  his  relation- 
ship to  Marius,  but,  upon  the  intercession  of  friends,  Sulla  spared 
him ;  as  he  did  so,  however,  he  said  warningly,  "There  is  in  that 
boy  many  a  Marius." 

The  number  of  victims  of  these  proscriptions  has  been  handed 
down  as  forty-seven  hundred.  Almost  all  of  these  must  have  been 
men  of  wealth  or  of  special  distinction  on  account  of  their  activity 


1 88       THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC    [§281 

in  public  affairs.  The  property  of  the  proscribed  was  confiscated 
and  sold  at  public  auction,  or  virtually  given  away  by  Sulla  to 
his  favorites.  The  bases  of  some  of  the  most  colossal  fortunes 
that  we  hear  of  a  little  after  this  were  laid  during  these  times  of 
proscription  and  robbery. 

This  reign  of  terror  bequeathed  to  later  times  a  terrible  "legacy 
of  hatred  and  fear."  Its  awful  scenes  haunted  the  Romans  for 
generations,  and  at  every  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth 
the  public  mind  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  painful  apprehension 
lest  there  should  be  a  repetition  of  these  frightful  days  of  Sulla. 

By  a  decree  of  the  Senate  Sulla  was  now  made  dictator  during 
his  own  good  pleasure.  After  having  exercised  the  unlimited  power 
of  his  office  for  three  years,  Sulla,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody, 
suddenly  resigned  the  dictatorship  and  went  into  retirement.  He 
died  the  year  following  his  abdication  (78  B.C.).  One  important 
result  of  the  rule  of  Sulla  as  an  absolute  dictator  was  the  accustom- 
ing of  the  people  to  the  idea  of  the  rule  of  a  single  man.  His  short 
dictatorship  was  the  prelude  to  the  reign  of  the  permanent 
imperator. 

281.  Spartacus;  War  of  the  Gladiators  (73-71  B.C.).  About  a 
decade  after  the  proscriptions  of  Sulla,  Italy  was  the  scene  of 
fresh  troubles.  Gladiatorial  combats  had  become  at  this  time  the 
favorite  sport  of  the  amphitheater.  At  Capua  was  a  sort  of  train- 
ing school  from  which  skilled  fighters  were  hired  out  for  public  or 
private  entertainments.  In  this  seminary  was  a  Thracian  slave, 
known  by  the  name  of  Spartacus,  who  incited  his  companions  to 
revolt.  The  insurgents  fled  to  the  crater  of  V^esuvius  and  made  that 
their  stronghold.  There  they  were  joined  by  gladiators  from  other 
schools,  and  by  slaves  and  discontented  persons  from  every  quarter. 
Their  number  at  length  increased  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men.  For  three  years  they  defied  the  power  of  Rome.  But  at 
length  Spartacus  himself  was  killed  and  the  insurrection  crushed. 

282.  Growth  of  Piracy  in  the  Mediterranean ;  War  with  the 
Pirates  (78-66  B.C.).  Another  shameful  commentary  on  the  in- 
capacity of  the  government  of  the  aristocrats  was  the  growth  of 
piracy  in  the  Mediterranean  waters  during  their  rule.     It  is  true 


§283]  POMPEY  IN  THE  EAST  189 

that  this  was  an  evil  which  had  been  growing  for  a  long  time. 
The  Romans,  through  their  conquest  of  the  countries  fringing  the 
Mediterranean,  had  destroyed  not  only  the  governments  that  had 
maintained  order  on  the  land,  but  at  the  same  time  had  destroyed 
the  fleets,  as  in  the  case  of  Carthage,  which,  since  the  days  when 
the  rising  Greek  cities  suppressed  piracy  in  the  ^gean  Sea,  had 
policed  the  Mediterranean  and  kept  its  ship  routes  clear  of  corsairs. 

The  Mediterranean,  thus  left  practically  without  patrol,  was 
swarming  with  pirates,  for  the  Roman  conquests  in  Africa,  Spain, 
and  especially  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,  had  caused  thousands 
of  adventurous  spirits  in  those  maritime  countries  to  take  to  their 
ships  and  seek  a  livelihood  by  preying  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
seas.  The  pirates  even  ravaged  the  shores  of  Italy  itself.  They 
carried  off  merchants  and  travelers  from  the  Appian  Way  and  held 
them  for  ransom.  At  last  they  began  to  intercept  the  grain  ships 
of  Sicily  and  Africa  and  thereby  threatened  Rome  with  starvation. 
Corn  rose  to  famine  prices. 

The  Romans  now  bestirred  themselves.  In  the  year  67  B.C. 
Gnaeus  Pompey,  a  rising  young  general  of  the  aristocrats,  was 
invested  with  dictatorial  power  for  three  years  over  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  all  its  coasts  for  fifty  miles  inland.  He  quickly  swept 
the  pirates  from  the  sea,  captured  their  strongholds  in  Cilicia,  and 
settled  the  twenty  thousand  prisoners  that  fell  into  his  hands  in 
colonies  in  Asia  Minor  and  Greece.  His  vigorous  conduct  of  this 
campaign  brought  him  great  honor  and  reputation. 

283.  Pompey  in  the  East ;  the  Death  of  Mithradates  (63  B.C.). 
Pompey  had  not  yet  ended  the  war  with  the  pirates  before  he  was 
given,  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  charge  of  the  war  against  Mith- 
radates, who  was  now  again  in  arms  against  Rome.  In  a  great 
battle  in  Lesser  Armenia  Pompey  almost  annihilated  the  army  of 
Mithradates.  The  king  fled  from  the  field,  and  soon  afterwards, 
to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans,  took  his  own  life. 
His  death  removed  one  of  the  most  formidable  enemies  that  Rome 
had  ever  encountered.  Hamilcar,  Hannibal,  and  Mithradates  were 
the  three  great  names  that  the  Romans  always  pronounced  with 
respect  and  dread. 


190        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC     [§  284 

284.  The  Conspiracy  of  Catiline  (64-62  B.C.)-  While  the  legions 
were  absent  from  Italy  with  Tompey  in  the  East  a  most  daring 
conspiracy  against  the  government  was  formed  at  Rome.  Catiline, 
a  ruined  spendthrift,  had  gathered  a  large  company  of  profligate 
young  nobles,  weighed  down  with  debts  and  desperate  like  himself, 
and  had  deliberately  planned  to  murder  the  consuls  and  the  chief 
men  of  the  state  and  to  plunder  and  burn  the  capital.  The  proscrip- 
tions of  Sulla  were  to  be  renewed  and  all  debts  were  to  be  canceled. 

Fortunately,  all  the  plans  of  the  conspirators  were  revealed  to 
the  consul  Cicero,  the  great  orator.  The  Senate  immediately 
clothed  the  consuls  with  dictatorial  power  with  the  usual  formula 
that  they  "should  take  care  that  the  republic  received  no  harm." 
Then  in  the  Senate  chamber,  with  Catiline  himself  present,  Cicero 
exposed  the  whole  conspiracy  in  a  famous  philippic,  known  as 
The  First  Oration  against  Catiline.  The  senators  shrank  from  the 
conspirator  and  left  the  seats  about  him  empty.  After  a  feeble 
effort  to  reply  to  Cicero,  overwhelmed  by  a  sense  of  his  guilt,  and 
the  cries  of  "traitor"  and  "parricide"  from  the  senators,  Catiline 
fled  from  the  chamber  and  hurried  out  of  the  city  to  the  camp  of 
his  followers  in  Etruria.  In  a  desperate  battle  fought  near  Pistoria 
he  was  slain  with  many  of  his  followers.  His  head  was  borne  as 
a  trophy  to  Rome. 

285.  Caesar,  Crassus,  and  Pompey :  the  So-called  "First 
Triumvirate"  (eo  B.C.).  Although  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline  had 
failed,  still  it  was  very  easy  to  foresee  that  the  days  of  liberty  at 
Rome  were  over.  From  this  time  forward  the  government  was 
practically  in  the  hands  of  ambitious  leaders  or  of  corrupt  com- 
binations and  "rings."  Events  gather  about  a  few  great  names, 
and  the  annals  of  the  Republic  become  biographical  rather  than 
historical. 

There  were  now  in  the  state  three  men — Caesar,  Crassus,  and 
Pompey— who  were  destined  to  shape  affairs.  Gains  Julius  Caesar 
was  born  in  the  year  loo  b.c.  Although  descended  from  an  old 
patrician  family,  still  he  had  identified  himself  with  the  democratic 
party.  In  every  way  he  courted  the  favor  of  the  multitude.  He 
lavished    enormous   sums   upon    public   games   and    tables.    His 


§286]  CESAR'S  CONQUEST  OF  GAUL  191 

popularity  was  unbounded.  A  successful  campaign  in  Spain  had 
already  made  known  to  himself,  as  well  as  to  others,  his  genius 
as  a  commander. 

Marcus  Licinius  Crassus  belonged  to  the  senatorial  or  aristo- 
cratic party.  He  owed  his  influence  to  his  enormous  wealth,  being 
one  of  the  richest  men  in  the  Roman  world.  His  property  was 
estimated  at  7100  talents  (about  $8,875,000). 

With  Gnajus  Pompey  and  his  achievements  we  are  already 
familiar.  His  influence  throughout  the  Roman  world  was  great ; 
for  in  settling  the  countries  he  subdued  he  had  filled  the  offices 
with  his  friends  and  adherents.  This  patronage  had  secured  for 
him  incalculable  authority  in  the  provinces. 

What  is  commonly  known  as  the  "First  Triumvirate"  rested  on 
the  genius  of  Caesar,  the  wealth  of  Crassus,  and  the  reputation  of 
Pompey.  It  was  a  private  arrangement  entered  into  by  these 
three  men  for  the  purpose  of  securing  to  themselves  the  control 
of  public  affairs.  Csesar  was  the  manager  of  the  "ring,"  Through 
the  aid  of  his  colleagues  he  secured  the  consulship. 

286.  Caesar's  Conquest  of  Gaul  (58-51  B.C.).  Directly  after 
his  consulship  Csesar  was  commissioned  to  govern  the  provinces 
of  Cisalpine  and  Transalpine  Gaul,  together  with  Illyricum. 
Already  doubtless  he  was  revolving  in  his  mind  plans  for  seizing 
supreme  power.  Beyond  the  Alps  the  Gallic  and  German  tribes 
were  in  restless  movement.  He  saw  there  a  grand  field  for  military 
exploits,  which  should  gain  for  him  such  prestige  as  in  other  fields 
had  been  won  and  was  now  enjoyed  by  Pompey.  With  this 
achieved,  and  with  a  veteran  army  devoted  to  his  interests,  he 
might  hope  easily  to  attain  that  position  at  the  head  of  affairs 
toward  which  his  ambition  was  urging  him. 

In  the  spring  of  58  B.C.  alarming  intelligence  from  beyond  the 
Alps  caused  Ca?sar  to  hasten  from  Rome  into  Transalpine  Gaul. 
Now  began  a  series  of  eight  brilliant  campaigns  directed  against 
the  various  tribes  of  Gaul,  Germany,  and  Britain.  In  his  admirable 
Commentaries  Caesar  himself  has  left  us  a  faithful  and  graphic 
account  of  all  the  memorable  marches,  battles,  and  sieges  that 
filled  the  years  between  58  and  51  b.c. 


192        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC     [§287 

The  year  55  b.c.  marked  two  notable  achievements.  Early  in 
the  spring  of  this  year  Caesar  constructed  a  bridge  across  the  Rhine 
and  led  his  legions  against  the  Germans  in  their  native  woods  and 
swamps.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  crossed  the  channel 
that  separates  the  mainland  from  Britain,  and  after  maintaining 
a  foothold  upon  that  island  for  two  weeks  withdrew  his  legions  into 
Gaul  for  the  winter.  The  following  season  he  made  another 
invasion  of  Britain,  but,  after  some  encounters  with  the  fierce 
barbarians,  recrossed  to  the  mainland  without  having  established 
any  permanent  garrisons  in  the  island.  Almost  one  hundred  years 
passed  away  before  the  natives  of  Britain  were  again  molested  by 
the  Romans. 

Great  enthusiasm  was  aroused  at  Rome  by  Caesar's  victories 
over  the  Gauls.  "Let  the  Alps  sink,"  exclaimed  Cicero;  "the 
gods  raised  them  to  shelter  Italy  from  the  barbarians ;  they  are 
now  no  longer  needed." 

287.  Results  of  the  Gallic  Wars.  One  good  result  of  the  Gallic 
wars  of  Caesar  was  the  Romanizing  of  Gaul.  The  country  was 
opened  to  Roman  traders  and  settlers,  who  carried  with  them 
the  language,  customs,  and  arts  of  Italy.  This  Romanization  of 
Gaul  meant  the  adding  of  another  to  the  number  of  Latin  nations 
that  were  to  arise  from  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  if  Caesar  had  not  concjuered  Gaul  it  would 
have  been  overrun  by  the  Germans,  and  would  ultimately  have 
become  simply  an  extension  of  Germany.  There  would  then  have 
been  no  great  Latin  nation  north  of  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees. 
It  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  European  history  would  be  like  if 
the  French  nation,  with  its  semi-Italian  temperament,  instincts, 
and  traditions,  had  never  come  into  existence. 

Another  result  of  Cesar's  campaigns  in  Gaul  was  the  checking 
of  the  migratory  movements  of  the  German  tribes,  which  gave 
Graeco-Roman  civilization  time  to  become  thoroughly  rooted  not 
only  in  Gaul  but  also  in  Spain  and  other  lands. 

288.  Rivalry  between  Caesar  and  Pompey  ;  Caesar  crosses  the 
Rubicon  (49  B.C.).  While  Ca;sar  was  in  Gaul  Crassus  was  leading 
an  army  against  the  Parthians  in  the  East,  hoping  to  rival  there 


§289]   C^SAR  MASTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  WORLD       193 

the  brilliant  conquests  of  Caesar.  But  his  army  was  almost 
annihilated  by  the  enemy,  and  he  himself  was  slain  (54  B.C.). 

The  world  now  belonged  to  Caesar  and  Pompey.  A  struggle 
between  them  was  inevitable.  While  Caesar  was  carrying  on  his 
campaigns  in  Gaul,  Pompey  was  at  Rome  watching  jealously  the 
growing  reputation  of  his  rival.  He  strove  by  a  princely  liberality 
to  win  the  affections  of  the  common  people.  He  gave  magnificent 
games  and  set  public  tables,  and  when  the  interest  of  the  people 
in  the  sports  of  the  Circus  flagged  he  entertained  them  with 
gladiatorial  combats. 

In  a  similar  manner  Caesar  strengthened  himself  with  the  people 
for  the  struggle  which  he  plainly  foresaw.  He  sought  in  every 
way  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Gauls ;  he  increased  the  pay 
of  his  soldiers,  conferred  the  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  different  cities,  and  sent  to  Rome  enormous  sums 
of  gold  to  be  expended  in  the  erection  of  theaters  and  other  public 
structures,  and  in  the  celebration  of  games  and  shows  that  should 
rival  in  magnificence  those  given  by  Pompey. 

The  Senate,  favoring  Pompey,  made  him  sole  consul  for  one 
year,  which  was  about  the  same  thing  as  making  him  dictator,  and 
issued  a  decree  that  Caesar  should  resign  his  offtce  and  disband 
his  Gallic  legions  by  a  stated  day.  The  crisis  had  now  come. 
Caesar  ordered  his  legions  to  hasten  from  Gaul  into  Italy.  Without 
waiting  for  their  arrival,  at  the  head  of  a  small  body  of  veterans 
that  he  had  with  him  at  Ravenna,  he  crossed  the  Rubicon,  a  little 
stream  that  marked  the  boundary  of  his  province.  This  was  a 
declaration  of  war.  As  he  plunged  into  the  river,  he  exclaimed, 
"The  die  is  cast!  " 

289.  Caesar  becomes  Sole  Master  of  the  Roman  World.  As 
Caesar  marched  southward,  one  city  after  another  threw  open  its 
gates  to  him ;  legion  after  legion  went  over  to  his  standard. 
Pompey,  with  a  few  legions,  i!ed  to  Greece.  Within  sixty  days 
Caesar  had  made  himself  master  of  all  Italy.  His  moderation  won 
all  classes  to  his  side.  ]\Iany  had  looked  to  see  the  terrible  scenes 
of  the  days  of  Marius  and  Sulla  reenacted.  Caesar,  however,  soon 
gave  assurance  that  life  and  property  should  be  held  sacred. 


194       THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC    [§290 

With  order  restored  in  Italy,  and  with  Sicily,  Sardinia,  and  Spain 
brought  under  his  authority,  Caesar  was  free  to  turn  his  forces 
against  Pompey  in  the  East.  The  armies  of  the  rivals  met  upon 
the  plains  of  Pharsalus  in  Thessaly.  Pompey 's  forces  were  cut  to 
pieces.  He  himself  fled  from  the  field  and  escaped  to  Egypt. 
Just  as  he  was  landing  he  was  assassinated. 

Other  campaigns  and  vic- 
tories followed  both  in  the 
East  and  in  the  West,  and 
then  Csesar  was  sole  lord  of 
the  Roman  world.  He  re- 
frained from  taking  the  title 
of  king,  but  he  assumed  the 
purple  robe,  the  insignia  of 
royalty,  and  caused  his  effigy 
to  be  stamped,  after  the  man- 
ner of  sovereigns,  on  the 
public  coins.  His  statue  was 
significantly  given  a  place 
along  with  those  of  the  seven 
kings  of  early  Rome.  He 
was  invested  with  all  the 
Fig.  68.  Julius  C/i-:sar.  (From  a  bust  offices  and  dignities  of  the 
in  the  Museum  at  Naples)  state.    The  Senate  made  him 

perpetual  dictator  (44  b.c), 
and  conferred  upon  him  the  powers  of  censor,  consul,  and  tribune, 
with  the  titles  of  Pontifex  Maximus  and  Imperator.  Thus,  though 
not  a  king  in  name,  Caesar's  actual  position  at  the  head  of  the  state 
was  that  of  an  absolute  ruler. 

290.  Caesar  as  a  Statesman.  Cicsar  was  great  not  only  as  a 
general  but  also  as  a  statesman.  He  had  great  plans  which  em- 
braced the  whole  world  that  Rome  had  conquered.  A  chief  aim 
of  his  was  to  establish  between  the  different  classes  of  the  Empire 
equality  of  rights,  to  place  Italy  and  the  provinces  on  the  same 
footing,  to  blend  the  various  races  and  peoples  into  a  real  nation, — 
in  a  word,  to  carry  to  completion  that  great  work  of  making  all 


§291]  THE  .DEATH  OF  C^SAR  195 

the  world  Roman  which  had  been  begun  in  the  earliest  times.  To 
this  end  he  established  numerous  colonies  in  the  provinces  and 
settled  in  them  the  poorer  citizens  of  the  capital.  With  a  liberality 
that  astonished  and  offended  many,  he  admitted  to  the  Senate  sons 
of  freedmen,  and  particularly  representative  men  from  among  the 
Gauls,  and  conferred  upon  individual  provincials,  and  upon  entire 
classes  and  communities  in  the  provinces,  the  partial  or  full  rights 
of  the  city.  His  action  here  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Rome.  The  immunities  and  privileges  of  the  city  had  never 
hitherto  been  conferred,  save  in  exceptional  cases,  upon  any 
peoples  other  than  those  of  the  Italian  race.  Coesar  threw  the  gates 
of  the  city  wide  open  to  the  non-Italian  peoples  of  the  provinces. 
Thus  was  foreshadowed  the  day  when  all  freemen  throughout  the 
whole  Empire  should  be  Roman  in  name  and  privilege  (see  Table, 
p.  205). 

As  Pontifex  Maximus,  Caesar  reformed  the  calendar  so  as  to 
bring  the  festivals  once  more  in  their  proper  seasons,  and  provided 
against  further  confusion  by  making  the  year  consist  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  with  an  added  day  for  every  fourth 
or  leap  year.    This  is  what  is  called  the  Julian  Calendar.^ 

Besides  these  achievements,  Caesar  projected  many  other  under- 
takings which  the  abrupt  termination  of  his  life  prevented  his 
carrying  into  execution. 

291.  The  Death  of  Caesar  (  44  B.C.).  Caesar  had  his  bitter  per- 
sonal enemies,  who  never  ceased  to  plot  his  downfall.  There 
were,  too,  sincere  lovers  of  the  old  Republic  to  whom  he  was  the 
destroyer  of  republican  liberties.  The  impression  began  to  prevail 
that  he  was  aiming  to  make  himself  king.  A  crown  was  several 
times  offered  him  in  public  by  the  consul  Mark  Antony ;  but, 
seeing  the  manifest  displeasure  of  the  people,  he  each  time 
pushed  it  aside.  Yet  there  is  little  doubt  that  secretly  he  desired  it. 
It  was  reported  that  he  proposed  to  rebuild  the  walls  of  Troy,  the 
fabled  cradle  of  the  Roman  race,  and  make  that  ancient  capital 

1  This  calendar,  which  was  based  on  the  old  Egyptian  calendar  (sect.  30),  was  in 
general  use  in  Europe  until  the  year  1582,  when  it  was  reformed  by  Pope  Gregory 
XIII  and  became  what  is  known  as  the  Gregorian  Calendar.  This  in  time  came  to  be 
used  in  almost  all  Christian  countries.   A  few  still  retain  the  Julian  Calendar. 


196       THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC     [§  292 

the  seat  of  the  new  Roman  Empire.  Others  professed  to  believe 
that  the  arts  and  charms  of  the  Egyptian  Cleopatra,  who  had 
borne  him  a  son  at  Rome,  would  entice  him  to  make  Alexandria 
the  center  of  the  proposed  kingdom.  So  many,  out  of  love  for 
Rome  and  the  old  Republic,  were  led  to  enter  into  a  conspiracy 
against  the  life  of  Casar  with  those  who  sought  to  rid  themselves 
of  the  dictator  for  other  and  personal  reasons. 

The  Ides  (the  15th  day)  of  March,  44  B.C.,  upon  which  day  the 
Senate  convened,  witnessed  the  assassination.  Seventy  or  eighty 
conspirators,  headed  by  Gaius  Cassius  and  INIarcus  Brutus,  were 
concerned  in  the  plot.  The  soothsayers  must  have  had  some 
knowledge  of  the  plans  of  the  conspirators,  for  they  had  warned 
Caesar  to  "beware  of  the  Ides  of  March."  No  sooner  had  he 
entered  the  hall  where  the  Senate  assembled  that  day,  and  taken 
his  seat,  than  the  conspirators  crowded  about  him  as  if  to  present 
a  petition.  Upon  a  signal  from  one  of  their  number  their  daggers 
were  drawn.  For  a  moment  Caesar  defended  himself ;  but  seeing 
Brutus,  upon  whom  he  had  lavished  gifts  and  favors,  among  the 
conspirators,  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed  reproachfully,  "£/  tu, 
Brute ./"  (Thou,  too,  Brutus  ! )  and  then  to  have  drawn  his  mantle 
over  his  face. 

The  Romans  had  killed  many  of  their  best  men  and  cut  short 
their  work ;  but  never  had  they  killed  such  a  man  as  Caesar.  He 
was  the  greatest  man  their  race  had  yet  produced  or  was  destined 
ever  to  produce. 

Csesar's  work  was  left  all  incomplete.  What  makes  it  histori- 
cally important  is  that  in  his  reforms  Caesar  drew  the  broad  lines 
which  his  successors  followed,  and  indicated  the  principles  on 
which  the  government  of  the  future  must  be  based. 

292.  The  Second  Triumvirate  (43  B.C.) ;  the  Death  of  Cicero. 
Antony,  the  friend  and  secretary  of  Caesar,  had  gained  possession 
of  his  will  and  papers,  and  now,  under  color  of  carrying  out  the 
testament  of  the  dictator  according  to  a  decree  of  the  Senate, 
entered  upon  a  course  of  high-handed  usurpation.  Very  soon  he 
was  exercising  all  the  powers  of  a  real  dictator.  "The  tyrant  is 
dead,"  said  Cicero,  "but  the  tyranny  still  lives." 


§292] 


THE  SECOND  TRIUMVIRATE 


197 


K^tjif^ 


To  what  lengths  Antony  would  have  gone  in  his  career  of 
usurpation  it  is  difficult  to  say,  had  he  not  been  opposed  at  this 
point  by  Gaius  Octavius,  the  young  grand-nephew  of  Julius  Caesar, 
and  the  one  whom  he  had  named  in  his  will  as  his  heir  and 
adopted  as  his  son.  Upon  the  Senate's  declaring  in  favor  of 
Octavius,  civil  war  immediately 
broke  out  between  him  on  the 
one  hand  and  Antony  and  Lepi- 
dus  (one  of  Caesar's  old  lieuten- 
ants) on  the  other.  After  several 
indecisive  battles  between  the 
forces  of  the  rival  competitors, 
Octavius  proposed  to  Antony  and 
Lepidus  a  reconciliation.  The 
outcome  of  a  conference  was  a 
league  known  as  the  Second 
Triumvirate  (43  B.C.). 

The  plans  of  the  triumvirs 
were  infamous.  They  first  divided 
the  world  among  themselves : 
Octavius  was  to  have  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  West ;  Antony, 
that  of  the  East ;  while  to  Lepi- 
dus fell  the  control  of  Africa. 
A  general  proscription,  such  as 
had  marked  the  coming  to  power 

of  Sulla,  was  then  resolved  upon.  It  was  agreed  that  each 
should  give  up  to  the  assassin  such  friends  of  his  as  had  incurred 
the  ill-will  of  either  of  the  other  triumvirs.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment Octavius  gave  up  his  friend  Cicero, — who  had  incurred  the 
hatred  of  Antony  by  opposing  his  schemes, — and  allowed  his 
name  to  be  put  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  the  proscribed. 

The  friends  of  the  orator  urged  him  to  flee  the  country.  His 
attendants  were  hurrying  him,  half  unwilling,  toward  the  coast, 
when  his  pursuers  came  up  and  dispatched  him  in  the  litter  in 
which  he  was  being  carried.    His  head  was  taken  to  Rome  and 


¥\v,.  69.    CiCEKo.    (Madrid) 


198        THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC     [§293 

set  up  in  the  Forum.    The  right  hand  of  the  victim  —  the  hand  that 
had  penned  the  eloquent  orations — was  nailed  to  the  Rostra/ 

Cicero  was  but  one  victim  among  many  hundreds.  All  the 
dreadful  scenes  of  the  days  of  Sulla  were  reenacted.  Three  hun- 
dred senators  and  two  thousand  knights  were  murdered.  The 
estates  of  the  wealthy  were  confiscated  and  conferred  by  the 
triumvirs  upon  their  friends  and  favorites. 

293.  Last  Struggle  of  the  Republic  at  Philippi  (42  B.C.). 
The  friends  of  the  old  Republic  and  the  enemies  of  the  triumvirs 
were  meanwhile  rallying  in  the  East.  Brutus  and  Cassius,  who 
had  fled  from  Rome  after  the  assassination  of  Caesar,  were  the 
animating  spirits.  Octavius  and  Antony,  as  soon  as  they  had  dis- 
posed of  their  enemies  in  Italy,  crossed  the  Adriatic  into  Greece 
to  disperse  the  forces  of  the  republicans  there.  At  Philippi,  in 
Thrace,  the  hostile  armies  met.  The  new  levies  of  the  liberators 
were  cut  to  pieces,  and  both  Brutus  and  Cassius,  believing  the 
cause  of  the  Republic  lost,  committed  suicide.  It  was,  indeed,  the 
last  effort  of  the  Republic.  The  history  of  the  events  that  lie 
between  the  action  at  Philippi  and  the  establishment  of  the  Empire 
is  simply  a  record  of  the  struggles  among  the  triumvirs  for  the 
possession  of  the  prize  of  supreme  power.  Lepidus  was  at  length 
expelled  from  the  triumvirate,  and  then  again  the  Roman  world, 
as  in  the  times  of  Caesar  and  Pompey,  was  in  the  hands  of  two 
masters, — Antony  in  the  East  and  Octavius  in  the  West. 

294.  The  Battle  of  Actium  (31  B.C.).  Affairs  could  not  long 
continue  in  their  present  course.  Antony  had  put  away  his  faithful 
wife  Octavia  for  the  beautiful  Cleopatra.'  It  was  whispered  at 
Rome,  and  not  without  truth,  that  he  proposed  to  make  Alexandria 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  world,  and  announce  Caesarion,  son  of 
Julius  Csesar  and  Cleopatra,  as  the  heir  of  the  Empire.    All  Rome 

'  The  speakers'  stage  in  the  Forum.  It  was  so  called  because  decorated  with  the 
beaks  (rostra)  of  captured  war  palleys. 

2  After  the  battle  of  Philippi  Antony  went  into  .Asia  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the 
affairs  of  the  provinces  and  vassal  states  there.  At  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia,  he  met  Cleopatra, 
the  famous  queen  of  Egypt.  Antony  was  completely  fascinated,  as  had  been  the  great 
Cassar  before  him,  by  the  witchery  of  the  "  .Serpent  of  the  Nile."  Enslaved  by  her 
enchantments  and  charmed  by  her  brilliant  wit,  in  the  pleasure  of  her  company  he  forgot 
all  else  —  ambition  and  honor  and  country. 


§294]  THE  BATTLE  OF  ACTIUM  199 

was  stirred.  It  was  evident  that  a  struggle  was  at  hand  in  which 
the  question  for  decision  would  be  whether  the  West  should  rule 
the  East,  or  the  East  rule  the  West.  All  eyes  were  instinctively 
turned  to  Octavius  as  the  defender  of  Italy  and  the  supporter  of 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Eternal  City. 

Both  parties  made  the  most  gigantic  preparations  for  the  inevi- 
table conflict.  Octavius  met  the  combined  fleets  of  Antony  and 
Cleopatra  just  off  the  promontory  of  Actium,  on  the  western 
coast  of  Greece.  While  the  issue  of  the  battle  was  yet  undecided, 
Cleopatra  turned  her  galley  in  flight.  Antony,  as  soon  as  he  per- 
ceived the  withdrawal  of  Cleopatra,  forgot  all  else  and  followed  in 
her  track  with  a  swift  galley.  Overtaking  the  fleeing  queen,  the 
infatuated  man  was  received  aboard  her  vessel  and  became  her 
partner  in  the  disgraceful  flight.  The  abandoned  fleet  and  army 
surrendered  to  Octavius.^  The  conqueror  was  now  sole  master  of 
the  civilized  world.  From  this  decisive  battle  (31  B.C.)  are  usually 
dated  the  end  of  the  Republic  and  the  beginning  of  the  Empire. 

References.  Plutarch,  Tiberius  Gracchus  and  Julius  Ccrsar.  Cicero, 
Letters  to  Atticus  (Loeb  Classical  Library),  bk.  vii,  letters  1-26.  Ferrero,  G., 
The  Greatness  and  the  Decline  of  Rome,  vols,  i-iii ;  vol.  iv  (chaps,  i-vi).  Meri- 
VALE,  C,  The  Fall  of  the  Roman  Republic.  Pelham,  H.  F.,  Outlines  of  Roman 
History,  pp.  201-258,  333-397-  GiLMAN,  A.,  Story  of  Rome,  chaps,  xii,  xiii. 
MoMMSEN,  T.,  vol.  iv  (read  chap,  xi,  "The  Old  Republic  and  the  New 
Monarchy").  Oman,  C,  Seven  Rontan  Statesmen  of  the  Republic.  Strach.^N- 
Davidson,  J.  L.,  Cicero  and  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Republic.  FoWLER,  W.  W., 
fulius  Cccsar. 

1  Octavius  pursued  .Vntony  to  Egypt,  where  the  latter,  deserted  by  his  army  and  in- 
formed by  a  messenger  from  the  false  queen  that  she  was  dead,  committed  suicide. 
Cleopatra  then  sought  to  enslave  Octavius  with  her  charms ;  but  failing  in  this,  and  be- 
coming convinced  that  he  proposed  to  take  her  to  Rome  to  grace  his  triumph,  she  took 
her  own  life,  being  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  her  age.  With  the  death  of  Cleopatra 
the  noted  dynasty  of  the  Egyptian  Ptolemies  came  to  an  end.  Egypt  was  henceforth  a 
province  of  the  Roman  state. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  EMPIRE  AND  THE 

PRINCIPATE  OF  AUGUSTUS  CAESAR 

(31  B.C.-A.D.  14) 

295.  The  Character  of  the  Imperial  Government.  The  hun- 
dred years  of  strife  which  ended  with  the  battle  of  Aclium  left  the 
Roman  Republic,  exhausted  and  helpless,  in  the  hands  of  one 
wise  enough  and  strong  enough  to  remold  its  crumbling  fragments 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  state,  which  seemed  ready  to  fall  to 
pieces,  might  prolong  its  existence  for  another  five  hundred  years. 
It  was  a  great  work  thus  to  create  anew,  as  it  were,  out  of  anarchy 
and  chaos,  a  political  fabric  that  should  exhibit  such  elements  of 
perpetuity  and  strength.  "The  establishment  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire," says  Merivale,  "was,  after  all,  the  greatest  political  work 
that  any  human  being  ever  wrought.  The  achievements  of  Alex- 
ander, of  Caesar,  of  Charlemagne,  of  Napoleon  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  it  for  a  moment." 

Soon  after  his  return  from  the  East,  Octavius  laid  down  the  ex- 
traordinary powers  which  he,  as  sole  master  of  the  legions,  had 
been  exercising.  Then  the  Senate,  acting  doubtless  in  accordance 
with  a  previous  understanding  or  the  known  wishes  of  Octavius, 
reinvested  him  with  virtually  the  same  powers  but  with  republican 
titles ;  for,  mindful  of  the  fate  of  Julius  Cajsar,  Octavius  saw  to 
it  that  the  really  absolute  power  which  he  received  under  the  new 
arrangements  was  veiled  under  the  forms  of  the  old  Republic.  He 
did  not  take  the  title  of  king.  He  knew  how  hateful  to  the  people 
that  name  had  been  since  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins.  Nor  did 
he  take  the  title  of  dictator,  a  name  that  since  the  time  of  Sulla 
had  been  almost  as  intolerable  to  the  people  as  that  of  king.  But 
he  adopted  or  accepted  the  title  of  Impcrator, — ^ whence  the  name 
Emperor, —  a  title  which,  although  it  carried  with  it  the  absolute 


§295] 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 


201 


authority  of  the  commander  of  the  legions,  still  had  clinging 
to  it  no  odious  memories.  He  also  received  from  the  Senate 
the  honorary 
surname  of 
Augustus,  a 
title  that  hith- 
erto had  been 
sacred  to  the  gods, 
and  hence  was  free 
from  all  sinister  asso- 
ciations. A  monument  of 
this  act  was  erected  in  the  cal- 
endar. It  was  decreed  by  the 
Senate  that  the  sixth  month  of 
the  Roman  year  should  be 
called  Augustus  (whence  our 
August)  in  commemoration  of 
the  Imperator,  an  act  in  imita- 
tion of  that  by  which  the  pre- 
ceding month  had  been  given 
the  name  Julius  (whence  our 
July)  in  honor  of  Julius  Caesar. 
Common  usage  also  bestowed 
upon  Octavius  the  name  of 
Princeps,  which  was  only  a 
designation  of  courtesy  and  dig- 
nity and  which  simply  pointed 
out  him  who  bore  it  as  the 
"  first  citizen  "  of  a  free  republic. 
And  as  Octavius  was  careful 
not  to  wound  the  sensibilities 
of  the  lovers  of  the  old  Repub- 
lic by  assuming  any  title  that 
in  any  way  suggested  regal  au- 
thority and  prerogative,  so  was  he  careful  not  to  arouse  their 
opposition  by  abolishing  any  of  the  republican  offices  or  assemblies. 


Fig.  70. 


(Vatican 


Augustus. 
Museum) 

This  statue  of  Augustus  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  best  of  Roman  portraits 


202  AUGUSTUS  C^SAR  [§296 

He  allowed  all  the  old  magistracies  and  the  popular  assemblies  to 
exist  as  heretofore ;  but  he  himself  absorbed  and  exercised  the 
most  important  part  of  their  powers  and  functions.^ 

The  Senate  still  existed,  but  it  was  shorn  of  all  real  independence 
by  the  predominating  influence  of  its  first  member,  the  Princeps. 
Octavius  endeavored  to  raise  the  body  to  a  higher  standard.  He 
reduced  the  number  of  senators — which  had  been  raised  by 
Antony  to  one  thousand^ — to  six  hundred,  and  struck  from 
the  rolls  the  names  of  unworthy  members  and  of  obstinate 
republicans. 

We  may  summarize  all  these  changes  by  saying  that  the  mon- 
archy abolished  five  hundred  years  before  this  was  now  slowly 
rising  again  amidst  the  old  forms  of  the  Republic.  This  is  what 
was  actually  taking  place ;  for  the  chief  powers  and  prerogatives 
of  the  ancient  king,  which  during  the  republican  period  had  been 
gradually  broken  up  and  lodged  in  the  hands  of  a  great  number 
of  magistrates,  colleges,  and  assemblies,  were  now  being  once  more 
gathered  up  in  the  hands  of  a  single  man.  This  drift  toward  the 
unrestrained  rule  of  a  single  person  is  the  essence  of  the  constitu- 
tional history  of  Rome  for  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Empire ; 
by  the  end  of  that  period  the  concentration  of  all  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  Princeps  was  complete,  and  the  veiled  monarchy  of 
Octavius  emerges  in  the  unveiled  oriental  monarchy  of  Diocletian 
(sect.  311). 

296.  The  Government  of  the  Provinces.  The  revolution  that 
brought  in  the  Empire  effected  a  great  improvement  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  provincials.  The  government  of  all  those  provinces  that 
were  in  an  unsettled  state  and  that  needed  the  presence  of  a  large 
military  force  Augustus'  withdrew  from  the  Senate  and  took  the 
management  of  their  affairs  in  his  own  hands.  These  were  known 
as  the  provinces  of  Cccsar.  Instead  of  these  countries  being  ruled 
by  practically  irresponsible  proconsuls  and  propretors,  they  were 

1  The  consuls  were  generally  nominated  by  Augustus,  anrl  in  order  that  a  large 
number  of  his  friends  and  favorites  mipht  be  amused  with  the  dignity,  the  term  of 
office  was  reduced  to  a  shorter  period.  At  a  later  time  the  length  of  the  consulate  was 
shortened  to  two  or  three  months. 

2  From  this  on  we  shall  refer  to  Octavius  by  this  his  honorary  surname. 


§  297J  LITERATURE  UNDER  AUGUSTUS  203 

henceforth  ruled  by  legates  of  the  Emperor,  who  were  removable 
at  his  will  and  answerable  to  him  for  the  faithful  and  honest 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  their  offices. 

The  more  tranquil  provinces  were  still  left  under  the  control  of 
the  Senate  and  were  known  as  public  provinces.  These  also  prof- 
ited by  the  change,  since  the  Emperor  extended  his  care  to  them, 
and,  as  the  judge  of  last  appeal,  righted  wrongs  and  punished 
flagrant  offenders  against  right  and  justice. 

297.  The  Defeat  of  Varus  by  the  Germans  under  Arminius 
(a.d.  9).  The  reign  of  Augustus  was  marked  by  one  of  the  most 
terrible  disasters  that  ever  befell  the  Roman  legions.  The  general 
Quintilius  Varus,  leading  an  army  of  about  twenty  thousand  men 
against  the  Germans  beyond  the  Rhine,  in  the  almost  pathless 
depths  of  the  Teutoburg  Wood  was  surprised  by  the  barbarians 
under  their  brave  chieftain  Arminius,^  and  his  army  destroyed. 

This  victory  of  Arminius  over  the  Romans  was  an  event  of  great 
significance  in  the  history  of  European  civilization.  The  Germans 
were  on  the  point  of  being  completely  subjugated  and  put  in  the 
way  of  being  Romanized,  as  the  Celts  of  Gaul  had  already  been. 
Had  this  occurred,  had  Germany  become  a  Latin  nation,  the 
whole  course  of  European  history  would  have  been  changed. 
Further,  among  these  barbarians  were  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors. 
Had  Rome  succeeded  in  exterminating  or  enslaving  them,  Britain, 
as  Creasy  says,  might  never  have  received  the  name  of  England, 
and  the  great  English  nation  might  never  have  come  into  existence. 

298.  Literature  and  the  Arts  under  Augustus.-  The  reign  of 
Augustus  lasted  forty-four  years,  from  31  b.c.  to  a.d.  14.  Although 
the  government  of  Augustus,  as  we  have  learned,  was  disturbed  by 
some  troubles  upon  the  frontiers,  still,  never  before,  perhaps,  had 
the  civilized  world  enjoyed  so  long  a  period  of  general  rest  from 
the  turmoil  of  war.  Three  times  during  this  auspicious  reign  the 
gates  of  the  Temple  of  Janus  at  Rome,  which  were  open  in  time 
of  war  and  closed  in  time  of  peace,  were  shut.  Only  twice  before 
during  the  existence  of  the  city  had  they  been  closed,  so  con- 
stantly had  the  Roman  people  been  engaged  in  war. 

1  His  name  may  have  been  Hermann  or  Armin  ;  the  Romans  wrote  it  Arminius. 


2  04  AUGUSTUS  C^SAR  [§299 

This  long  repose  from  the  strife  that  "had  filled  all  the  preceding 
centuries  was  favorable  to  the  upspringing  of  literature  and  art. 
Under  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor  and  that  of  his  favorite 
minister  Maecenas,  poets  and  writers  flourished  and  made  this  the 
Golden  Age  of  Latin  literature.  The  great  names  in  the  literature 
of  the  period  are  those  of  Vergil,  Horace,  Ovid,  and  Livy. 

Augustus  was  also  a  munificent  patron  of  architecture  and  art. 
He  adorned  the  capital  with  many  splendid  structures,  including 
temples,  theaters,  baths,  and  aqueducts.  He  said  proudly,  "I 
found  Rome  a  city  of  brick ;  I  left  it  a  city  of  marble."  The 
population  of  the  city  at  this  time  was  probably  about  one  million. 

299.  The  Death  and  Deification  of  Augustus.  In  the  year 
14  of  the  Christian  era  Augustus  died,  having  reached  the  seventy- 
sixth  year  of  his  age.  By  decree  of  the  Senate,  divine  worship  was 
accorded  to  him  and  temples  were  erected  in  his  honor. 

The  cult  of  Augustus  had  developed,  particularly  in  the  Orient, 
while  he  was  yet  living.  At  first  flush  this  worship  of  Ca?sar  seems 
to  us  strange  and  impious.  But  it  will  not  seem  so  if  we  put 
ourselves  at  the  point  of  view  of  the  ancients.  In  the  Orient  the 
king  had  very  generally  been  looked  upon  as  in  a  sense  divine. 
Thus  in  Egypt  the  Pharaoh  was  believed  to  be  of  the  very  race 
of  the  gods.  It  was  natural,  then,  that  the  subjects  of  Rome  in 
the  Eastern  provinces  should  look  upon  the  head  of  the  Empire  as 
one  lifted  above  ordinary  mortals  and  possessed  of  divine  qual- 
ities. This  way  of  thinking  caused  the  provincials  of  the  Orient 
to  become  sincere  and  zealous  worshipers  in  the  temples  and  before 
the  altars  of  the  "divine  Ca?sar." 

From  the  East  the  custom  of  worshiping  the  Emperor  spread  to 
the  West;  only  at  Rome  itself  it  remained  usual  to  wait  till  after 
his  death.  This  deification  of  the  Ca?sars  had  far-reaching  conse- 
quences, as  we  shall  see ;  since  at  this  very  time  there  was 
springing  up  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  Empire  a  new  religion 
with  which  the  imperial  cult  must  necessarily  come  into  violent 
conflict.  For  it  was  in  the  midst  of  the  happy  reign  of  Augustus, 
when  peace  prevailed  throughout  the  civilized  world,  that  Christ 
was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea. 


§299]  TABLE  OF  ROMAN  CITIZENS  205 

TABLE   SHOWING  THE   NUMBER  OF  ROMAN  CITIZENS  AT 

DIFFERENT    PERIODS    OF    THE    REPUBLIC    AND     UNDER 

THE   EARLY   EMPIRE  1 

Citizens  of 
I\IiLiTARY  Age 
Under  the  later  kings  (Mommsen's  estimate) .     .    .     .  20,000 

338  B.  c 165,000 

293  B.  c 262,322 

251  B.c 279,797 

220  B.c 270,213 

204  B.C 214,000^ 

164  B.C 327,022 

115  I5.C 394.336 

70  B.C 900,000 

27  B.C 4,063,000' 

8  B.C 4,233,000 

A.I>.   13 4.937.000 

A.D.  47  (under  Claudius) 6,944,000 

References.  Ferrero,  G.,  The  Greatness  and  Decline  of  Rome,  vols,  iv 
(chaps,  vii-xi),  v.  Inge,  W.  R.,  Society  in  Rome  under  the  Ccesars,  chap,  i, 
"  Religion  "  (deals  with  the  decay  of  the  Roman  religion  and  the  establishment 
at  the  capital  of  oriental  cults).  Capes,  W.  W.,  The  Early  Empire,  chap,  i, 
"  Augustus."  Pelham,  H.  F.,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  v,  chap.  iii. 
Bury,  J.  B.,  The  Roman  Empire  (Student's  Series),  pp.  1-163.  Firth,  J.  B., 
Augustus  CcEsar.  CREASY,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  chap,  v,  "  Victory 
of  Arminius  over  the  Roman  Legions  under  Varus,  A.D.  g."  Friedlander, 
L.,  Roman  Life  and  Manners,  vol.  i,  pp.  70-97.  Davis,  W.  S.,  The  Influence 
of  Wealth  in  Imperial  Rome,  pp.  80-105. 

1  These  figures  illustrate  what  is  perhaps  the  most  important  matter  in  Roman 
history,  namely,  the  gradual  admission  of  aliens  to  the  full  rights  of  the  city  until  every 
freeman  in  the  civilized  world  had  become  a  citizen  of  Rome. 

2  The  falling  off  from  the  number  of  the  preceding  census  of  220  B.C.  was  a  result 
of  the  Hannibalic  War. 

8  These  figures  and  those  of  the  enumerations  for  8  n.c.  and  A.D.  13  are  from  the 
Mottwncnlum  Ancyranum.  The  increased  number  given  by  the  census  of  70  b.  c.  over 
that  of  115  B.C.  registers  the  result  of  the  admission  to  the  city  of  the  Italians  at  the 
end  of  the  Social  War  (sect.  276).  The  tremendous  leap  upwards  of  the  figures  between 
70  and  27  B.C.  is  probably  to  be  explained  not  wholly  by  the  admission  during  this 
period  of  aliens  to  the  franchise  but  also,  possibly,  by  the  failure  of  the  censors  of  the 
republican  period  to  include  in  their  enumerations  the  Roman  citizens  living  in  places 
remote  from  the  capital. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
FROM  TIBERIUS  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF  DIOCLETIAN 

(A.D.  14-284) 

300.  Principate  of  Tiberius  (a.d.  14-37).  Tiberius,  the  adopted 
stepson  of  Augustus,  became  his  successor.  During  the  first  years 
of  his  reign  he  used  his  practically  unrestrained  authority  with 
moderation,  and  even  to  the  last  his  government  of  the  provinces 
was  just  and  beneficent. 

But  unfortunately  Tiberius  was  of  morose,  suspicious,  and 
jealous  nature,  and  the  opposition  which  he  experienced  in  the 
capital  caused  him,  in  his  contest  with  his  political  and  personal 
enemies,  soon  to  institute  there  a  most  high-handed  tyranny. 
Appointing  as  his  chief  minister  and  as  commander  of  the  pretorian 
guard  ^  one  Sejanus,  a  person  of  the  lowest  and  most  corrupt  life, 
he  retired  to  Capre«,  an  islet  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  and  left  to 
this  man  the  management  of  affairs  at  the  capital.  For  a  time 
Sejanus  ruled  at  Rome  very  much  according  to  his  own  will.  No 
man's  life  was  safe.  He  even  grew  so  bold  as  to  plan  the  assassi- 
nation of  the  Emperor  himself.  His  designs,  however,  became 
known  to  Tiberius,  and  the  infamous  and  disloyal  minister  was 
arrested  and  put  to  death.  After  the  execution  of  his  minister 
Tiberius  ruled  more  despotically  than  before.  Many  sought  refuge 
from  his  tyranny  in  suicide. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  that,  in  a  remote 
province  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the  Saviour  was  crucified.  Ani- 
mated by  an  unparalleled  missionary  spirit,  his  followers  traversed 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Empire,  preaching  everywhere 
the  new  teachings.    Men's  loss  of  faith  in  the  gods  of  the  old 

1  This  was  a  corps  of  select  soldiers  which  had  been  created  by  Augustus,  and 
which  was  designed  as  a  bodyguard  to  the  Kmperor.  It  numbered  about  10,000  men, 
and  was  given  a  permanent  camp  near  one  f>f  the  city  gates.  It  soon  became  a 
formidable  power  in  the  state  and  made  and  unmade  emperors  at  will. 

206 


§  301]  RULE  OF  NERO  207 

mythologies,  the  softening  and  liberalizing  influence  of  Greek  cul- 
ture, the  unification  of  the  whole  civilized  world  under  a  single 
government,  the  widespread  suffering  and  the  inexpressible  weari- 
ness of  the  oppressed  and  servile  classes, — all  these  things  had 
prepared  the  soil  for  the  seed  of  the  new  doctrines.  In  less  than 
three  centuries  the  pagan  Empire  had  become  Christian  not  only 
in  name  but  also  very  largely  in  fact. 

301.  Rule  of  Nero  (a.d.  54-68).  Nero,  the  third  Emperor  after 
Tiberius,  was  fortunate  in  having  for  his  preceptor  the  great 
philosopher  and  moralist  Seneca  (sect.  344) ;  but  never  was  teacher 
more  unfortunate  in  his  pupil.  For  five  years  Nero,  under  the 
influence  of  Seneca  and  Burrhus,  the  latter  the  commander  of  the 
pretorians,  ruled  with  moderation  and  equity ;  then  he  gradually 
broke  away  from  the  guidance  of  his  tutor  Seneca,  and  entered 
upon  a  career  filled  with  crimes  of  almost  incredible  enormity. 

It  was  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign  (a.d.  64)  that  the  so-called 
"Great  Fire"  laid  more  than  half  of  Rome  in  ashes.  It  was 
rumored  that  Nero  had  ordered  the  conflagration  to  be  lighted  in 
order  to  clear  the  ground  so  that  he  could  rebuild  the  city  on  a 
more  magnificent  plan,  and  that  from  the  roof  of  his  palace  he 
had  enjoyed  the  spectacle  and  amused  himself  by  singing  a  poem 
of  his  own  composition  entitled  the  Sack  of  Troy.  To  turn  atten- 
tion from  himself,  Nero  accused  the  Christians  of  having  conspired 
to  burn  the  city.  The  persecution  that  followed  was  one  of  the 
most  cruel  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Many  victims 
were  covered  with  pitch  and  burned  at  night  to  serve  as  torches 
in  the  imperial  gardens.  Tradition  preserves  the  names  of  the 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul  as  victims  of  this  persecution. 

The  Emperor  was  extravagant  and  consequently  always  in  need 
of  money,  which  he  secured  through  murders  and  confiscations. 
Among  his  victims  was  his  old  preceptor  Seneca,  who  was  im- 
mensely rich.  On  the  charge  of  treason,  Nero  condemned  him  to 
death  and  confiscated  his  estate. 

At  last  the  armies  began  to  rebel,  and  the  Senate  declared  Nero 
a  public  enemy  and  condemned  him  to  death  by  scourging.  To 
avoid  this,  aided  by  a  servant,  he  took  his  own  life. 


208 


FROM  TIBERIUS  TO  DIOCLETIAN 


[§  302 


302.  Vespasian  (a.d.  69-79).  A  short  troublous  period  followed 
the  reign  of  Nero  and  then  the  imperial  purple  was  assumed  by 
Flavius  Vespasian,  the  old  and  beloved  commander  of  the  legions 
in  Palestine.  One  of  the  most  memorable  events  of  Vespasian's 
reign  was  the  capture  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem.    After  one  of 


"^7    ■    •. 


Fig.  71.   Triumphal  Procession  from  the  Arch  of  Titus.   (From 

a  photograpli) 
Showing  the  seven-branched  candlestick  and  other  trophies  from  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 

the  most  harassing  sieges  recorded  in  history,  the  city  was  taken 
by  Titus,  son  of  Vespasian.  A  vast  multitude  of  Jews  who  had 
crowded  into  the  city — it  was  the  season  of  the  Passover — 
perished.  In  imitation  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Titus  robbed  the 
temple  of  its  sacred  utensils  and  bore  them  away  as  trophies. 
Upon  the  triumj)hal  arch  at  Rome  that  bears  his  name  may  be 
seen  at  the  present  day  the  sculptured  representation  of  the 
seven-branched  golden  candlestick,  which  was  one  of  the  memo- 
rials of  the  war. 

After  a  most  prosperous  reign  of  ten  years  Vespasian  died 
A.D.  79,  the  first  Emperor  after  Augustus  who  had  not  met  with 
a  violent  death. 


§303]  REIGN  OF  TITUS  209 

303.  Titus  (a.d.  79-81 ).  In  a  short  reign  of  two  years  Titus  won 
the  title  of  "the  Friend  and  the  Delight  of  Mankind."  He  was 
unwearied  in  acts  of  benevolence  and  in  bestowal  of  favors.  His 
reign  was  signalized  by  two  great  disasters.  The  first  was  a  con- 
flagration at  Rome,  which  was  almost  as  calamitous  as  the  Great 
Fire  in  the  reign  of  Nero.  The  second  was  the  destruction,  by  an 
eruption  of  Vesuvius,  of  the  Campanian  cities  of  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum.  The  cities  were  buried  beneath  showers  of  cinders, 
ashes,  and  streams  of  volcanic  mud.  Pliny  the  Elder,  the  great 
naturalist,  venturing  too  near  the  mountain  to  investigate  the 
phenomenon,  lost  his  life.' 

304.  The  Five  Good  Emperors.  The  emperors  Nerva,  Trajan, 
Hadrian,  and  the  two  Antonines,  whose  united  reigns  covered  the 
later  years  of  the  first  and  the  greater  part  of  the  second  century 
of  the  Christian  era,  were  elected  by  the  Senate,  which  during  this 
period  assumed  something  of  its  former  influence  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Empire.  The  wise  and  beneficent  administration  of  the  gov- 
ernment by  these  rulers  won  for  them  the  distinction  of  being 
called  "the  five  good  emperors."  This  period  probably  marks  the 
high  tide  of  civilization  in  ancient  times. 

Nerva,  who  was  an  aged  senator  and  an  ex-consul,  ruled  pater- 
nally. He  died  after  a  short  reign  of  sixteen  months,  and  the 
scepter  passed  into  the  stronger  hands  of  the  able  commander 
Trajan,  whom  Nerva  had  previously  made  his  associate  in  the 
government. 

305.  Trajan  (a.d.  98-117).  Trajan  was  a  native  of  Spain  and  a 
soldier  by  profession  and  talent.  He  was  the  first  provincial  to  sit 
in  the  seat  of  the  Ca'sars.  From  this  time  forward  provincials 
were  to  play  a  part  of  ever-increasing  importance  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Empire. 

It  was  the  policy  of  Augustus — a  policy  adopted  by  most  of 
his  successors — to  make  the  Danube  in  Europe  and  the  Euphra- 
tes in  Asia  the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  those  respective 

1  During  the  past  century  extensive  excavations  have  uncovered  a  large  part  of 
Pompeii  and  revealed  to  us  the  streets,  homes,  theaters,  baths,  shops,  temples,  and 
various  monuments  of  the  ancient  city  —  all  of  which  presents  a  vivid  picture  of  Roman 
life  during  the  imperial  period  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 


210  FROM  TIBERIUS  TO  DIOCLETIAN  [§306 

quarters.  But  Trajan  determined  to  push  the  frontiers  of  his 
dominions  beyond  both  these  rivers.  In  the  early  part  of  his 
reign  he  was  busied  in  wars  against  the  Uacians,  a  people  living 
north  of  the  Lower  Danube.  These  troublesome  enemies  were 
subjugated,  and  Dacia  was  made  into  a  province.  The  modern 
name  Rumania  is  a  monument  of  this  Roman  conquest  and 
colonization  beyond  the  Danube.  The  Rumanians  today  speak  a 
language  that  in  its  main  elements  is  largely  of  Latin  origin.^ 

In  the  latter  years  of  his  reign  Trajan  led  his  legions  to  the 
East,  crossed  the  Euphrates,  reduced  Armenia,  and  wrested  from 
the  Parthians  most  of  the  lands  which  once  formed  the  heart  of 
the  Assyrian  monarchy.  Out  of  the  territories  he  had  conquered 
Trajan  made  three  new  provinces,  which  bore  the  ancient  names 
of  Armenia,  Mesopotamia,  and  Assyria. 

To  Trajan  belongs  the  distinction  of  having  extended  the 
boundaries  of  the  Empire  to  the  most  distant  points  to  which 
Roman  ambition  and  prowess  were  ever  able  to  push  them. 

306.  Hadrian  (a.d.  ii7-138).  Hadrian,  a  kinsman  of  Trajan, 
succeeded  him  in  the  imperial  office.  He  prudently  abandoned  the 
territory  acquired  by  Trajan  beyond  the  Euphrates,  and  made 
that  stream  once  more  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Empire. 

More  than  fifteen  years  of  his  reign  were  spent  by  Hadrian  in 
making  tours  of  inspection  through  all  the  different  provinces  of 
the  Empire.  He  visited  Britain,  and  secured  the  Roman  posses- 
sions there  against  the  Picts  and  Scots  by  erecting  a  continuous 
rampart,  known  as  "  Hadrian's  Wall,"  across  the  island  from  the 
Tyne  to  the  Solway  Firth.  This  wall,  in  places  well  preserved, 
can  still  be  traced  over  the  low  hills  of  the  English  moorlands 
almost  from  sea  to  sea.  There  exists  nowhere  in  the  lands  that 
once  formed  the  provinces  of  the  Empire  of  Rome  any  more 
impressive  memorial  of  her  world-wide  dominion  ^han  these 
ramparts,  along  which  for  three  hundred  years  and  more  her 
sentinels  kept  watch  and  ward  for  civilization  against  the  barba- 
rian marauders  of  Caledonia. 

1  The  Romanic-speaking  peoples  of  Rumania  and  the  neighboring  regions  number 
about  ten  millions. 


§307]  THE  ANTONINES  21 1 

307.  The  Antonines  (a.d.  138-18o).  Aurelius  Antoninus,  sur- 
named  Pius,  the  adopted  son  of  Hadrian,  and  his  successor,  gave 
the  Roman  Empire  an  administration  singularly  pure  and  parental. 
Throughout  his  long  reign  of  twenty-three  years  the  Empire  was 
in  a  state  of  profound  peace.  The  attention  of  the  historian  is 
attracted  by  no  striking  events,  which  fact,  as  many  have  not 
failed  to  observe,  illustrates  admirably  the  oft-repeated  epigram, 
''Happy  is  that  people  whose  annals  are  brief." 

Antoninus,  early  in  his  reign,  had  united  with  himself  in  the 
government  his  adopted  son  INIarcus  Aurelius,  and  upon  the  death 
of  the  former  (a.d.  161)  the  latter  succeeded  cjuietly  to  his  place 
and  work.  The  studious  habits  of  Aurelius  won  for  him  the  title 
of  Philosopher.  He  belonged  to  the  school  of  the  Stoics,  and  was 
a  most  thoughtful  writer.  His  Meditations  make  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity  of  all  the  writings  of 
pagan  antiquity. 

Having  in  mind  the  character  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  it  perhaps 
will  seem  strange  to  some  that  one  of  the  severest  persecutions  of 
the  Christians  should  have  taken  place,  as  it  did,  in  his  reign.  In 
explanation  of  this  it  should  be  noted  that  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians  under  the  pagan  emperors  sprang  from  political  rather 
than  religious  motives,  and  that  is  why  we  find  the  names  of  the 
best  emperors,  as  well  as  those  of  the  worst,  in  the  list  of  perse- 
cutors. It  was  believed  that  the  welfare  of  the  state  was  bound  up 
with  the  careful  performance  of  the  rites  of  the  national  worship  ; 
and  hence,  while  the  Roman  rulers  were  usually  very  tolerant, 
allowing  all  forms  of  worship  among  their  subjects,  still  they  re- 
quired that  men  of  every  faith  should  at  least  recognize  the 
Roman  gods  and  burn  incense  before  their  statues,  and  jiarticu- 
larly  before  the  statue  of  the  emperor  (sect.  299).  This  the 
Christians  steadily  refused  to  do.  The  neglect  of  the  temple  serv- 
ices it  was  believed  angered  the  gods  and  endangered  the  safety  of 
the  state,  bringing  upon  it  drought,  pestilence,  and  every  disaster. 
This  was  a  main  reason  of  their  persecution  by  the  pagan  emperors. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  imperative 
calls  for  help  came  from  the  north.    The  barbarians  were  pushing 


212  FROM  TIBERIUS  TO  DIOCLETIAN  [§308 

in  the  Roman  outposts  and  pouring  over  the  frontiers.  Aurelius 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  legions  and  hurried  beyond  the 
Alps.  He  checked  the  inroads  of  the  barbarians,  but  could  not 
subdue  them.  At  last  his  weak  body  gave  way  beneath  the  hard- 
ships of  his  numerous  campaigns,  and  he  died  in  his  camp  at 
Vindobona  (now  Vienna)  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  reign 
(a.d.  i8o). 

Never  was  Monarchy  so  justified  of  her  children  as  in  the  lives 
and  works  of  Antoninus  Pius  and  Marcus  Aurelius.  As  Merivale, 
in  dwelling  upon  their  virtues,  very  justly  remarks,  "The  blame- 
less career  of  these  illustrious  princes  has  furnished  the  best  excuse 
for  Caesarism  in  all  after  ages." 

308.  The  State  of  the  Provinces.  The  close  of  the  auspicious 
era  of  the  Antonines  invites  us  to  cast  a  glance  over  the  Empire, 
in  order  that  we  may  note  the  condition  of  the  population  at  large. 
As  we  have  already  observed,  the  great  revolution  which  brought 
in  the  Empire  was  a  revolution  which  conduced  to  the  interests 
of  the  provincials.  Even  under  the  worst  emperors  the  adminis- 
tration of  affairs  in  the  provinces  was  as  a  rule  humane  and  just. 
It  is  probably  true  that,  embracing  in  a  single  view  all  the 
countries  included  in  the  Roman  Empire,  the  second  century  of 
the  Christian  era  marks  the  happiest  period  in  their  history. 

The  cities  of  the  Eastern  countries,  as  well  as  hundreds  of  simi- 
lar communities  in  Spain,  in  Gaul,  in  Britain,  and  in  other  lands 
of  the  West,  were  enjoying,  under  the  admirable  municipal  sys- 
tem developed  by  the  Romans,  a  measure  of  local  self-government 
probably  ecjual  to  that  enjoyed  today  by  the  municipalities 
of  the  most  advanced  of  the  countries  of  modern  Europe.  This 
wise  system  had  preser\'ed  or  developed  the  sentiment  of  local 
patriotism  and  civic  pride.  The  cities  vied  with  one  another  in  the 
erection  of  theaters,  amphitheaters,  baths,  temples,  and  triumphal 
arches,  and  in  the  construction  of  aqueducts,  bridges,  and  other 
works  of  a  utilitarian  nature.  In  these  undertakings  they  were 
aided  not  only  by  liberal  contributions  made  by  the  emperors  from 
the  imperial  treasury  but  by  the  generous  gifts  and  bequests  of 
individual  citizens.    Private  munificence  of  this  character  was  as 


§  309] 


THE  SALE  OF  THE  EMPIRE 


213 


remarkable  a  feature  of  this  age  as  is  the  liberality  of  individuals 
at  the  present  day  in  the  endowment  of  educational  and  charitable 
institutions. 

Scores  of  majestic  ruins  scattered  throughout  the  lands  once 
forming  the  provinces  of  the  ancient  Empire  of  Rome  bear  im- 
pressive testimony  not  only  as  to  the  populousness,  culture,  and 


Fig.  72.   Roman  Aqueduct  and  Bridge,  dating  from  the  Early 
Empire,  near  Nimes,  France.   (Present  condition) 

This  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  impressive  of  the  existing  monuments  of  the  old 
Roman  builders.  The  lower  row  of  arches  carries  a  modern  roadway 


enterprise  of  the  urban  communities  of  the  Roman  dominions 
but  also  as  to  the  generally  wise  and  beneficent  character  of  the 
earlier  imperial  rule. 

309.  A  Century  of  Anarchy;  the  Sale  of  the  Empire  (a.d.  193). 
For  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  beneficent  rule  of  the 
Antonines  the  Empire  was  the  prey  of  disorder  and  sedition.  The 
character  of  the  period  is  revealed  by  the  fact  that  of  the  twenty- 
five  emperors  who  mounted  the  throne  during  this  time  all  except 
four  came  to  death  by  violence.  To  internal  disorders  was  added 
the  terror  of  barbarian  invasions.  On  every  side  savage  hordes  were 
breaking  into  the  Empire  to  rob,  to  murder,  and  to  burn. 


214  FROM  TIBERIUS  TO  DIOCLETIAN  [§309 

One  of  the  most  significant  events  of  these  troublous  times  was 
the  sale  of  the  Empire  by  the  pretorians.^  These  soldiers,  having 
killed  the  reigning  Emperor,  gave  out  notice  that  they  would  sell 
the  Empire  to  the  highest  bidder.  It  was  accordingly  set  up  for 
sale  at  their  camp  and  struck  off  to  Didius  Julianus,  a  wealthy 
senator,  who  promised  twenty-five  thousand  sesterces  (about 
Siooo)  to  each  of  the  twelve  thousand  soldiers  at  this  time 
composing  the  guard. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  disgraceful  transaction  reached  the 
legions  on  the  frontiers,  they  rose  in  indignant  revolt.  Each  army 
proclaimed  its  favorite  commander  Emperor.  The  leader  of  the 
Danubian  troops  was  Septimius  Severus,  a  man  of  great  energy 
and  force  of  character.  He  knew  that  there  were  other  competitors 
for  the  throne,  and  that  the  prize  would  be  his  who  first  seized  it. 
Instantly  he  set  his  veterans  in  motion  and  was  soon  at  Rome. 
The  pretorians  were  no  match  for  the  trained  legionaries  of  the 
frontiers,  and  did  not  even  attempt  to  defend  their  Emperor,  who 
was  taken  prisoner  and  put  to  death  after  a  reign  of  sixty-five 
days.  As  a  punishment  for  the  insult  they  had  offered  to  the 
Roman  state  the  unwerthy  pretorians  were  disbanded  and  banished 
from  the  capital,  and  a  new  bodyguard  of  legionaries  was  organized 
to  take  their  place. 

References.  CiIHIhjn,  E.,  chap,  ii,  "Of  the  Union  and  Internal  Prosperity 
of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  Age  of  the  Antonines."  Mommskn,  T.,  The 
Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  from  Cicsar  to  Diocletian.  Pki.ham,  II.  F., 
Outlines  of  Roman  History^  pp.  470-548.  Dili,,  S.,  Roman  Society  from  jVero 
to  Marcus  Aurelius  (a  notable  book).  Tuckkr,  T.  G.,  Life  in  the  Roman 
World  of  N^ero  and  St.  Paul.  Watsu.N,  P.  B.,  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus, 
chap,  vii,  "The  Attitude  of  Aurelius  towards  Christianity."  Capes,  \V.  W., 
The  Ai^e  of  the  Antonines.  Mau,  A.,  Pompeii:  its  Life  and  Art.  Lancian'I, 
R.,  Taiwan  and  Christian  Rome,  chap,  vii  (on  the  Catacombs). 

1  See  above,  p.  206,  n.  1. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

DIOCLETIAN  AND  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT 

I.  THE  REIGN  OF  DIOCLETIAN  (a.d.  284-305) 

310.  General  Statement.  The  accession  of  Diocletian  marks 
an  important  era  in  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  two 
matters  of  chief  importance  connected  with  his  reign  are  the 
changes  he  effected  in  the  government  and  his  persecution  of  the 
Christians.  Diocletian's  governmental  reforms,  though  radical, 
were  salutary,  and  infused  such  fresh  vitality  into  the  frame  of 
the  dying  state  as  to  give  it  a  new  lease  of  life  for  another  term 
of  nearly  two  hundred  years. 

311.  The  Empire  becomes  an  Undisguised  Oriental  Monarchy. 
Up  to  the  time  we  have  now  reached,  the  really  monarchical  char- 
acter of  the  government  had  been  more  or  less  carefully  concealed 
under  the  forms  and  names  of  the  old  Republic.  Realizing  that 
republican  government  among  the  Romans  had  passed  away  for- 
ever, and  that  its  forms  were  now  absolutely  meaningless,  Dio- 
cletian cast  aside  all  the  masks  with  which  Augustus  had  concealed 
his  practically  unlimited  power  and  which  fear  or  policy  had  led 
his  successors,  with  greater  or  less  consistency,  to  retain,  and  let 
the  government  stand  forth  naked  in  the  true  character  of  what  it 
had  now  virtually  become — an  absolute  Asiatic  monarchy. 

The  change  was  marked  by  Diocletian's  assumption  of  the  titles 
of  Asiatic  royalty  and  his  adoption  of  the  court  ceremonials  and 
etiquette  of  the  East.  He  clothed  himself  in  magnilicent  robes 
of  silk  and  gold.  He  took  the  title  of  lord^  and  all  who  approached 
him  were  required  to  prostrate  themselves  to  the  ground,  a  form  of 
oriental  and  servile  adoration  which  the  free  races  of  the  West 
had  hitherto,  with  manly  disdain,  refused  to  render  to  their  magis- 
trates and  rulers. 

215 


2i6  DIOCLETIAN  AND  CONSTANTINE  [§312 

312.  Changes  in  the  Administrative  System.  The  century  of 
anarchy  which  preceded  the  accession  of  Diocletian,  and  the  death 
by  assassination  during  this  period  of  so  many  of  the  wearers  of 
the  imperial  purple,  had  made  manifest  the  need  of  a  system  which 
would  discourage  assassination  and  provide  a  regular  mode  of  suc- 
cession to  the  throne.  Diocletian  devised  a  system  the  aim  of 
which  was  to  compass  both  these  ends.  First,  he  chose  as  a  col- 
league a  companion  ruler,  Maximian,  who,  like  himself,  bore  the 
title  of  Augustus.  Then  each  of  the  co-emperors  associated  with 
himself  an  assistant,  who  took  the  title  of  Cassar  and  was  con- 
sidered the  son  and  heir  of  the  emperor.  There  were  thus  two 
Augusti  and  two  Caesars.  Milan,  in  Italy,  became  the  capital  and 
residence  of  ]\Iaximian ;  while  Nicomedia,  in  Asia  ]\Iinor,  became 
the  seat  of  the  court  of  Diocletian.  The  Augusti  took  charge  of 
the  countries  near  their  respective  capitals,  while  the  Caesars, — 
Galerius  and  Constantius, — younger  and  more  active,  were  assigned 
the  government  of  the  more  distant  and  turbulent  provinces.  The 
vigorous  administration  of  the  government  in  every  quarter  of  the 
Empire  was  thus  secured. 

Diocletian  also  subdivided  many  of  the  provinces.  His  purpose 
in  doing  this  was  to  diminish  the  power  of  the  provincial  governors 
and  thus  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  raise  successfully  the 
standard  of  revolt. 

A  most  serious  drawback  to  this  system  was  the  heavy  expense 
involved  in  the  maintenance  of  four  courts  with  their  endless 
retinues  of  officers  and  dependents,  and  the  great  number  of 
officials  needed  to  man  and  work  the  complicated  system.  It  was 
complained  that  the  number  of  those  who  received  the  revenues  of 
the  state  was  greater  than  that  of  those  who  contributed  to  them. 
The  burden  of  taxation  grew  unendurable.  Husbandry  in  some 
regions  ceased,  and  great  numbers  were  reduced  to  beggary  or 
driven  into  brigandage.  The  curiales,  or  members  of  the  local 
senates,  were  made  responsible  for  the  payment  of  the  taxes  due 
the  government  from  their  respective  communities,  and  hence  office- 
holding  became  not  an  honor  to  be  coveted  but  a  burden  to  be 
evaded.    It  was  this  vicious  system  of  taxation  which  more  than 


§313] 


GROWTH  OF  A  CASTE  SYSTEM 


217 


any  other  one  cause  contributed  to  the  depopulation,  impoverish- 
ment, and  final  downfall  of  the  Empire. 

313.  Growth  of  a  Caste  System.  To  escape  from  the  intoler- 
able burdens  many  of  the  peasant  farmers  fled  to  the  desert  and 
became  monks ;  others  escaped  across  the  frontiers  and  sought 
freedom  among  the  barbarians.  The  well-to-do  tried  in  every  way 
to  evade  the  burden  of  taxation  and  of  office.  To  meet  the  situa- 
tion the  government  adopted  the  policy  of  tying  everyone  liable 
to  taxation  to  his  post  or  profession.  The  colonus,  or  peasant 
farmer,  was  attached  to  the  land  he  worked  and  thus  made  a  serf ; 
the  artisan  was  bound  to  his  trade,  the 
merchant  to  his  business.  Moreover,  all 
offices,  trades,  and  professions  were,  in  so 
far  as  it  was  possible,  made  hereditary, 
children  being  forced  to  follow  the  occupa- 
tion of  their  father.  Everyone  was  to  re- 
main in  the  station  in  which  he  was  born. 
Classes  thus  tended  to  become  rigid  hered- 
itary castes.    Personal  liberty  disappeared. 

Perhaps  we  cannot  better  indicate  the 
new  relation  to  the  Empire  into  which  the 
head  of  the  Roman  state  was  brought  by 

the  innovations  of  Diocletian  and  his  successor  than  by  saying  that 
the  Empire  now  became  the  private  estate  of  the  sovereign  and  was 
managed  just  as  any  great  Roman  proprietor  managed  his  domain. 

314.  Persecution  of  the  Christians.  Toward  the  end  of  his 
reign  Diocletian  inaugurated  against  the  Christians  a  persecution 
which  continued  long  after  his  abdication,  and  which  was  the  sever- 
est, as  it  was  the  last,  waged  against  the  Church  by  the  pagan 
emperors.  It  was  during  this  and  the  various  other  persecutions 
that  vexed  the  Church  in  the  second  and  third  centuries  that  the 
Christians  sometimes  sought  refuge  in  the  Catacombs,  those  vast 
subterranean  galleries  and  chambers  under  the  city  of  Rome.  Here 
they  buried  their  dead,  and  on  the  walls  of  the  chambers  sketched 
rude  symbols  of  their  hope  and  faith.  It  was  in  the  darkness  of 
these  subterranean  abodes  that  Christian  art  had  its  beginnings. 


Fio.  73.  Christ  as 
THE  (lOOD  Shepherd 
(P'rom  the  Catacombs) 


2i8  DIOCLETIAN  AND  CONSTANTINE  [§315 

315.  The  Abdication  of  Diocletian.  After  a  reign  of  twenty 
years,  becoming  Avear\-  of  the  cares  of  state,  Diocletian  abdicated 
the  throne  and  forced  or  induced  his  colleague  Maximian  also  to 
lay  down  his  authority  on  the  same  day.  Galerius  and  Constantius 
were,  by  this  act,  advanced  to  the  purple  and  made  Augusti ;  and 
two  new  associates  were  appointed  as  Ca?sars. 

Diocletian  then  retired  to  his  country  seat  at  Salona,  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Adriatic.  It  is  related  that,  when  Maximian 
wrote  him  urging  him  to  endeavor  with  him  to  regain  the  power 
they  had  laid  aside,  he  replied,  "Were  you  but  to  come  to  Salona 
and  see  the  cabbages  which  I  raise  in  my  garden  with  my  own 
hands,  you  would  no  longer  talk  to  me  of  empire." 


II.  REIGN  OF  CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT   (a.  d.  306-33  7) 

316.  The  Battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge  (a.d.  312);  "In  this 
Sign  conquer."  Galerius  and  Constantius,  who  became  Augusti 
on  the  abdication  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  had  reigned  to- 
gether only  one  year  when  Constantius  died  at  York,  in  Britain. 
His  soldiers,  disregarding  the  rule  of  succession  as  determined 
by  the  system  of  Diocletian,  proclaimed  his  son  Constantine 
Emperor.  Six  competitors  for  the  throne  arose  in  different  quarters. 
For  eighteen  years  Constantine  fought  before  he  gained  the 
supremacy. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  battles  that  took  place  between 
the  contending  rivals  for  the  imperial  purple  was  the  battle  of 
the  Milvian  Bridge,  about  two  miles  from  Rome.  Constantine's 
standard  on  this  celebrated  battlefield  was  the  Christian  cross. 
He  had  been  led  to  adopt  this  emblem  through  the  appearance,  as 
once  he  prayed  to  the  sun-god,  of  a  cross  over  the  setting  sun, 
with  this  inscription  above  it :  "In  this  sign  conquer."^  Obedient 
unto  the  celestial  vision,  Constantine  had  at  once  made  the  cross 
his  banner,  and  it  was  beneath  this  new  emblem  that  his  soldiers 
marched  to  victory  at  the  battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge. 

1  In  hoc  signo  xinces ;  in  Cireck,  tv  ro^rcf}  vlKa. 


§317]      CONSTANTINE  ADOPTS  CHRISTIANITY         219 

317.  Constantine  makes  Christianity  the  Religion  of  the 
Court.  By  a  decree  issued  at  Milan  a.d.  313,  the  year  after  the 
battle  at  the  Milvian  Bridge,  Constantine  placed  Christianity  on 
an  equal  footing  with  the  other  religions  of  the  Empire.  The  lan- 
guage of  this  famous  edict  of  toleration,  the  Magna  Carta,  as  it 


Fig.  74.    Arch  of  Constaxtine  at  Rome,  as  it  Appears  Today 

Erected  by  the  Roman  Senate  in  commemoration  of  Constantine's  victory  over  Maxentius 
at  the  Milvian  Bridge 

has  been  called,  of  the  Church,  was  in  import  as  follows:  "We 
grant  to  Christians  and  to  all  others  full  liberty  of  following  that 
religion  which  each  may  choose."  "  For  the  first  time  in  history, 
the  principle  of  universal  toleration  was  [thus]  officially  laid 
down."^ 

But  by  subsequent  edicts  Constantine  made  Christianity  in  effect 
the  state  religion  and  extended  to  it  a  patronage  which  he  with- 
held from  the  old  pagan  worship.  He  granted  the  Christian  so- 
cieties the  right  to  receive  gifts  and  legacies,  and  he  himself 
enriched  the  Church  with  donations  of  money  and  grants  of  land. 

1  T/if  Camlniiige  Medheval  Histoiy,  vol.  i,  p.  5.  An  earlier  edict  of  toleration  by  the 
emperor  Galcrius  gave  the  Christians  freedom  of  worship,  but  did  not  recognize  the 
principle  of  universal  toleration. 


220  DIOCLETIAN  AND  COXSTAXTINE  [55  318 

This  marks  the  beginning  of  the  great  possessions  of  the  Church, 
and  with  these  the  entrance  into  it  of  a  worldly  spirit.  From  this 
moment  can  be  traced  the  decay  of  its  primitive  simplicity  and  a 
decline  from  its  early  high  moral  standard.  It  is  these  deplorable 
results  of  the  imperial  patronage  that  Dante  laments  in  his  well- 
known  lines : 

Ah,  Constantine  !  of  how  much  ill  was  mother, 
Not  thy  conversion,  but  that  marriage  dower 
Which  the  first  wealthy  Father  took  from  thee!^ 

Another  of  Constantine's  acts  touching  the  new  religion  is  of 
special  historical  interest  and  importance.  He  recognized  the 
Christian  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest,  forbidding  ordinary  work  on 
that  day,  and  ordering  that  Christian  soldiers  be  then  permitted 
to  attend  the  services  of  their  Church.  This  recognition  by  the 
civil  authority  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  meant  much  for  the  slave. 
Now,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Aryan  peoples,  the 
slave  had  one  day  of  rest  in  each  week.  It  was  a  good  augury  of 
the  happier  time  coming  when  all  the  days  should  be  his  own. 

318.  The  Church  Council  of  Nicaea  (a.d.  325).  With  a  view 
to  settling  the  controversy  between  theArians  and  theAthanasians- 
respecting  the  nature  of  Christ,— the  former  denied  his  equality 
with  God  the  Father, —  Constantine  called  the  first  (Ecumenical 
or  General  Council  of  the  Church  at  Nica?a,  a  town  of  Asia  Minor, 
A.D.  325.  Arianism  was  denounced,  and  a  formula  of  Christian 
faith  adopted,  which  is  known  as  the  Nicene  Creed. 

319.  Constantine  founds  Constantinople,  the  New  Rome,  on 
the  Bosphorus  (a.d.  330).  After  the  recognition  of  Christianity, 
the  most  important  act  of  Constantine  was  the  selection  of  Byzan- 
tium, on  the  Bosphorus,  as  the  new  capital  of  the  Empire.  One 
reason  which  led  the  Emperor  to  select  a  new  seat  for  his  court 
and  government  was  the  ungracious  conduct  towards  him  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Rome,  because  he  had  abandoned  the  worship  of 

1  Inferno,  xix,  115- 117. 

2  The  Arians  were  the  followers  of  Arius,  a  presbyter  of  Alexandria  in  Kgypt ;  the 
Athanasians.  of  Athanasius,  archdeacon  and  later  bishop  of  the  same  city,  and  the 
champion  of  the  orthodox  or  Catholic  view  of  the  Trinity. 


§320]  THE  PAGAN  RESTORATION  221 

the  old  national  deities.  But  there  were  also  military  reasons,  the 
most  dangerous  enemies  of  the  Empire  being  now  in  the  East ;  and 
also  commercial,  social,  and  political  reasons,  since  through  the 
Eastern  conquests  of  Rome  the  center  of  population,  wealth,  and 
culture  of  the  Empire  had  shifted  eastward. 

The  imperial  invitation  and  the  attractions  of  the  court  induced 
multitudes  to  crowd  into  the  new  capital,  so  that  almost  in  a  day 
the  old  Byzantium  grew  into  a  great  city.  In  honor  of  the  Em- 
peror the  name  was  changed  to  Constantinople,  the  "City  of 
Constantine."  The  old  Rome  on  the  Tiber,  emptied  of  its  leading 
inhabitants,  soon  sank  to  the  obscure  position  of  a  provincial 
town. 

320.  The  Pagan  Restoration  under  Julian  the  Apostate 
(a.d.  361-363).  A  troubled  period  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
followed  the  death  of  Constantine  the  Great,  and  then  the  imperial 
scepter  came  into  the  hands  of  Julian,  called  the  Apostate  because 
he  abandoned  Christianity  and  labored  to  restore  the  pagan  wor- 
ship. In  his  efforts  to  restore  paganism,  however,  Julian  did  not 
resort  to  the  old  means  of  persuasion, — "the  sword,  the  fire,  the 
lions."  One  reason  why  he  did  not  was  because  under  the  softening 
influences  of  the  very  faith  he  sought  to  extirpate,  the  Roman 
world  had  already  become  imbued  with  a  gentleness  and  humanity 
that  rendered  morally  impossible  the  renewal  of  the  Neronian  and 
Diocletian  persecutions.  Julian's  chief  weapon  was  the  pen,  for  he 
was  a  writer  and  satirist  of  no  mean  talent. 

The  disabilities  under  which  Julian  had  placed  the  Christians 
were  removed  by  his  successor  Jov'an  (a.d.  363-364)  and  Chris- 
tianity was  again  made  the  religion  of  the  imperial  court. 

References.  Gihhon,  E.,  chap,  xvii  (on  the  founding  of  Constantinople  and 
the  form  of  the  government).  Uhi.hokn,  G.,  Conflict  of  Christianity  'vith 
//.frtM^w/.f/w,  bk.  iii,  chaps,  i-iii.  Y\k\:\\,].V>.,  Constantine  the  Great.  St.\NLEV, 
A.  P.,  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  /''astern  Church,  lects.  ii-v  (for  the  history 
of  the  Council  of  Nicaea,  325  K.c).  Seeley,  J.  R.,  Roman  Imperialism,  lect.  iii, 
"The  Later  Empire."  The  Camfirida^e  Metiie7'al  History,  vol.  i,  chaps,  i-vii. 
Masox,  a.  J.,  The  Persecution  of  Diocletian,  chap.  iii.  Oman,  C,  The  Byzantine 
Empire,  pp.  13-30.  Gardner,  \.,fulian  the  Philosopher,  an  J  the  Last  Struggle 
of  Paganism  against  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
THE  LAST  CENTURY  OF  THE  EMPIRE  IN  THE  WEST 

(A.D.  376-476) 

321.  Introductory :  the  Germans  and  Christianity.    The  two 

most  vital  elements  in  the  Grieco-Roman  world  of  the  fifth  century 
were  the  German  (Teutonic)  barbarians  and  Christianity.  They 
had,  centuries  before  this,  as  we  have  seen,  come  into  certain 
relations  to  the  Roman  government  and  to  Roman  life ;  but 
during  the  period  lying  immediately  before  us  they  assumed  an 
altogether  new  historical  interest  and  importance. 

The  two  main  matters,  then,  which  will  claim  our  attention 
during  the  century  yet  remaining  for  survey,  will  be  (i)  the 
struggle  between  the  dying  Empire  and  the  young  German  races 
of  the  North  ;  and  ( 2 )  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity,  through 
the  aid  of  the  temporal  power,  over  expiring  paganism. 

322.  The  Goths  cross  the  Danube  (a.d.  376).  The  year  376 
of  the  Christian  era  marks  an  event  of  the  greatest  importance  in 
the  East.  The  Visigoths  (Western  Goths)  dwelling  north  of  the 
Lower  Danube  appeared  as  suppliants  in  vast  multitudes  upon  its 
banks.  They  said  that  a  terrible  race,  whom  they  were  powerless 
to  withstand,  had  invaded  their  territories  and  spared  neither  their 
homes  nor  their  lives.  They  begged  permission  of  the  Emperor 
Valens^  to  cross  the  river  and  settle  in  Thrace.  Their  petition 
was  granted  on  condition  that  they  surrender  their  arms  and  give 
up  their  children  as  hostages. 

The  enemy  that  had  so  terrified  the  Visigoths  were  the  Huns, 
a  monstrous  race  of  fierce  nomadic  horsemen  from  the  vast  steppes 
of  Asia.  Scarcely  had  the  fugitives  been  received  within  the 
limits  of  the  Empire  before  a  large  company  of  their  kinsmen,  the 

'Valens  (a.d.  ^'')4-3S")  was  Kmperor  of  the  East.  Valciitinian  (a.  n.  364-375), 
Emperor  of  the  West,  had  just  died,  and  been  succeeded  by  Gratian  (a.  d.  375-383). 


§323]        PROHIBITION  OF  THE  PAGAN  CULTS  223 

Ostrogoths  (Eastern  Goths),  also  driven  from  their  homes  by 
the  same  terrible  enemy,  crowded  to  the  banks  of  the  Danube  and 
pleaded  that  they  also  might  be  allowed  to  place  the  river  between 
themselves  and  their  dreaded  foe.  But  Valens,  becoming  alarmed 
at  the  presence  of  so  many  barbarians  within  his  dominions,  refused 
their  request,  whereupon  they  crossed  the  river  with  arms  in 
their  hands. 

Once  within  the  Empire  the  Ostrogoths,  joined  by  their  Visi- 
gothic  kinsmen,  soon  began  to  ravage  the  Danubian  provinces. 
Valens  dispatched  swift  messengers  to  Gratian,  Emperor  in  the 
West,  asking  for  assistance.  Gratian  was  hurrying  to  the  help  of 
his  colleague  when  news  of  his  defeat  and  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  barbarians  was  brought  to  him.  He  at  once  appointed  as  his 
associate  Theodosius  (a.d.  379-395),  known  afterwards  as  the 
Great,  and  intrusted  him  with  the  government  of  the  East.  Theo- 
dosius quickly  reduced  the  Goths  to  submission.  Great  multitudes 
of  them  were  settled  upon  the  waste  lands  of  Thrace,  while  more 
than  forty  thousand  of  these  warlike  barbarians,  the  destined  sub- 
verters  of  the  Empire,  were  enlisted  in  the  imperial  service. 

323.  The  Prohibition  of  the  Pagan  Cults.  Both  Gratian  and 
Theodosius  were  zealous  champions  of  the  orthodox  Church,  and 
a  large  portion  of  the  edicts  issued  during  their  joint  reign  had 
for  aim  the  uprooting  of  heresy  or  the  suppression  of  the  pagan 
worship.  At  first  the  pagans  were  merely  placed  under  certain 
disabilities,  but  finally  it  was  made  a  crime  for  anyone  to  practice 
any  pagan  cult,  or  even  to  enter  a  temple.  Even  the  private 
worship  of  the  Lares  and  Penates  was  prohibited.  The  struggle 
between  Christianity  and  heathenism  was  now  virtually  ended — ■ 
and  the  ''  Galilean"  had  conquered.  Pagan  rites,  however,  especially 
in  the  country  districts,  were  practiced  secretly  long  after  this. 

324.  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Great  and  Bishop  Ambrose  of 
Milan.  A  memorable  incident,  illustrative  of  the  inlluence  of  the 
new  religion  that  was  now  fast  taking  the  place  of  paganism,  marks 
the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  Great.  In  a  sedition  the  people  of 
Thessalonica,  in  INIacedonia,  had  murdered  the  general  and  several 
officers  of  the  imperial  garrison  in  that  place.    When  intelligence 


2  24  THE  LAST  CENTURY  IN  THE  WEST  [§325 

of  the  event  reached  Theodosius  his  hasty  temper  broke  through 
all  restraint,  and,  moved  by  a  spirit  of  savage  vengeance,  he 
ordered  an  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  the  inhabitants  of  Thes- 
salonica.  The  command  was  obe3^ed  and  at  least  seven  thousand 
persons  perished. 

Shortly  after  the  massacre,  the  Emperor,  as  he  was  entering  the 
door  of  the  cathedral  at  Milan  where  he  was  wont  to  worship,  was 
met  at  the  threshold  by  the  pious  Bishop  Ambrose,  who,  in  the 
name  of  the  God  of  justice  and  mercy,  forbade  him  to  enter  the 
sacred  place  until  he  had  done  public  penance  for  his  awful  crime. 
The  commander  of  all  the  Roman  legions  was  constrained  to  obey 
the  unarmed  pastor.  In  penitential  garb  and  attitude  Theodosius 
made  public  confession  of  his  sin  and  humbly  underwent  the 
penance  imposed  by  the  Church.  This  passage  of  history  is  note- 
worthy as  marking  a  stage  in  the  moral  progress  of  humanity.  It 
made  manifest  how  with  Christianity  a  new  moral  force  had 
entered  the  world  to  interpose,  in  the  name  of  justice  and  human- 
ity, between  the  weak  and  defenseless  and  their  self-willed  and 
arbitrary  rulers. 

325.  Final  Administrative  Division  of  the  Empire  (a.d.  395). 
During  the  last  years  of  his  reign  Theodosius  ruled  without  a 
colleague.  Upon  his  death  the  imperial  government,  as  he  had 
prearranged,  was  divided  between  his  two  sons,  Arcadius  and 
Honorius.  Arcadius  received  the  government  of  the  East,  and 
Honorius,  still  a  mere  child  of  eleven,  the  government  of  the 
West.  This  division  was  in  no  way  different  from  those  that 
had  been  repeatedly  made  since  the  time  of  Diocletian,  and  was 
not  to  affect  the  unity  of  the  Empire.  But  so  different  was 
the  trend  of  events  in  the  two  halves  of  the  old  Empire  from  this 
time  on  that  the  historians  of  Rome  have  generally  allowed  this 
division  of  the  imperial  rule  to  constitute  a  dividing  line  in  the 
history  of  the  Empire,  and  have  begun  here  to  trace  separately  the 
story  of  each  part. 

326.  The  Empire  in  the  East.  The  story  of  the  fortunes  of 
the  Empire  in  the  East  need  not  detain  us  long  here.  The  line  of 
Eastern  emperors  lasted  over  a  thousand  years — until  the  capture 


§327]  LAST  TRIUMPH  AT  ROME  225 

of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks,  a.d.  1453.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  greater  part  of  its  history  belongs  to  the  mediaeval  period. 
Up  to  the  time  of  the  dissolution  of  the  Empire  in  the  West  the 
emperors  of  the  East  were  engaged  almost  incessantly  in  suppress- 
ing uprisings  of  their  Gothic  allies  or  mercenaries,  or  in  repelling 
invasions  of  different  barbarian  tribes. 

327.  Last  Triumph  at  Rome  (a.d.  404).  Only  a  few  years  had 
elapsed  after  the  death  of  the  great  Theodosius  before  the  bar- 
barians were  trooping  in  vast  hordes  through  all  parts  of  the 
Empire.  First,  from  Thrace  and  Moesia  came  the  Visigoths,  led 
by  the  great  Alaric.  After  a  raid  through  Greece  they  crossed  the 
Julian  Alps  and  spread  terror  throughout  Italy.  Defeated  by 
Stilicho,  the  renowned  Vandal  general  of  Honorius,  they  finally 
withdrew  from  Italy  through  the  defiles  of  the  Alps.  A  magnificent 
triumph  at  Rome  celebrated  the  deliverance.  It  was  the  last 
triumph  that  Rome  ever  saw.  Three  hundred  times  —  such  is 
asserted  to  be  the  number — the  imperial  city  had  witnessed  the 
triumphal  procession  of  her  victorious  generals,  celebrating  con- 
quests in  all  quarters  of  the  world. 

328.  Last  Gladiatorial  Combat  of  the  Amphitheater.  The 
same  year  that  marks  the  last  military  triumph  at  Rome  signalizes 
also  the  last  gladiatorial  combat  in  the  Roman  amphitheater.  It 
is  to  Christianity  that  the  credit  for  the  suppression  of  these  in- 
human exhibitions  is  entirely,  or  almost  entirely,  due.  The  pagan 
philosophers  usually  regarded  them  with  indifference,  often  with 
favor.  They  were  defended  on  the  ground  that  they  fostered  a 
martial  spirit  among  the  people  and  inured  the  soldiers  to  the 
sights  of  the  battlefield.  Hence  gladiatorial  games  were  sometimes 
actually  exhibited  to  the  legions  before  they  set  out  on  their 
campaigns. 

But  the  Christian  Fathers  denounced  the  combats  as  immoral, 
and  strove  in  every  possible  way  to  create  a  public  opinion  against 
them.  At  length,  in  a.d.  325,  the  first  imperial  edict  against  them 
was  issued  by  Constantine.  From  this  time  forward  the  exhibi- 
tions were  under  something  of  a  ban,  until  their  final  abolition  was 
brought  about  by  an  incident  of  the  games  that  closed  the  triumph 


226  THE  LAST  CENTURY  IN  THE  WEST  [§329 

of  Honorius.  In  the  midst  of  the  exhibition  a  Christian  monk 
named  Telemachus,  leaping  into  the  arena,  rushed  between  the 
combatants,  but  was  instantly  killed  by  a  shower  of  missiles  thrown 
by  the  people,  who  were  angered  by  his  interruption  of  their 
sport.  The  people,  however,  soon  repented  of  their  act ;  and 
Honorius  himself,  who  was  present,  was  moved  by  the  scene. 
Christianity  had  awakened  the  conscience  and  touched  the  heart 
of  Rome.  The  martyrdom  of  the  monk  led  to  an  imperial  edict 
"which  abolished  forever  the  human  sacrifices  of  the  amphitheater." 

329.  Sack  of  Rome  by  Alaric  (ad.  4io).  Shortly  after  Alaric's 
first  invasion  of  Italy,  he  again  crossed  the  mountains  and  led  his 
hosts  to  the  very  gates  of  Rome.  Not  since  the  time  of  the  dread 
Hannibal  —  more  than  six  hundred  years  before  this — had  Rome 
been  insulted  by  the  presence  of  a  foreign  foe  beneath  her  walls. 
Only  by  the  payment  of  a  great  ransom  did  the  city  escape  sack 
and  pillage. 

After  receiving  the  ransom  Alaric  withdrew  his  army  from  before 
Rome  and  established  his  camp  in  Etruria.  The  chieftain  now 
demanded  for  his  followers  lands  of  Honorius,  who,  with  his  court, 
was  safe  behind  the  marshes  of  Ravenna  ;  but  the  Emperor  treated 
all  the  proposals  of  the  barbarian  with  foolish  insolence. 

Rome  paid  the  penalty.  Alaric  turned  upon  the  city,  resolved 
upon  its  plunder.  The  barbarians  broke  into  the  capital  by  night, 
"and  the  inhabitants  were  awakened  by  the  tremendous  sound  of 
the  Gothic  trumpet."  Just  eight  hundred  years  had  passed  since 
its  sack  by  the  Gauls  (sect.  248).  Now  it  is  given  over  for  the 
second  time  as  a  spoil  to  barbarians.  Alaric  commanded  his  sol- 
diers to  spare  the  lives  of  the  people,  and  to  leave  untouched  the 
treasures  of  the  Christian  churches ;  but  the  wealth  of  the  citizens 
he  permitted  them  to  make  their  own.  It  was  a  rich  booty  with 
which  they  loaded  their  wagons,  for  within  the  palace  of  the 
Caesars  and  the  homes  of  the  wealthy  were  gathered  the  riches  of 
a  plundered  world. 

330.  The  Death  of  Alaric  (a.d.  410).  After  withdrawing  his 
warriors  from  Rome,  Alaric  led  them  southward.  As  they  moved 
slowly  on,  they  piled  still  higher  the  wagons  of  their  long  trains 


§331]  DISINTEGRATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE  227 

with  the  rich  spoils  of  the  cities  and  villas  of  Campania  and  other 
districts  of  southern  Italy.  In  the  villas  of  the  Roman  nobles  the 
barbarians  spread  rare  banquets  from  the  stores  of  their  well-filled 
cellars,  and  drank  from  jeweled  cups  the  famed  Falernian  wine. 

Alaric's  designs  of  conquest  in  Africa  were  frustrated  by  his 
death.  Tradition  tells  how,  with  religious  care,  his  followers 
secured  the  body  of  their  hero  against  molestation.  The  little  river 
Busentinus,  in  northern  Bruttium,  was  turned  from  its  course  with 
great  labor,  and  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  was  constructed  a  tomb, 
in  which  was  placed  the  body  of  the  king,  with  his  jewels  and 
trophies.  The  river  was  then  restored  to  its  old  channel,  and, 
that  the  exact  spot  might  never  be  known,  the  prisoners  who  had 
been  forced  to  do  the  work  were  all  put  to  death. 

331.  The  Disintegration  of  the  Empire  and  the  Beginnings 
of  the  Barbarian  Kingdoms.  We  must  now  turn  our  eyes  from 
Rome  and  Italy  in  order  to  watch  the  movement  of  events  in 
the  Western  provinces  of  the  Empire.'  During  the  forty  years  fol- 
lowing the  sack  of  Rome  by  Alaric,  the  German  tribes  seized  the 
greater  part  of  these  provinces  and  established  in  them  what  are 
known  as  the  barbarian  kingdoms. 

The  Goths  who  had  pillaged  Rome  and  Italy,  after  the  death  of 
their  great  chieftain  Alaric,  under  the  lead  of  his  successors,  re- 
crossed  the  Alps,  and,  establishing  their  camps  in  the  south  of  Gaul 
and  the  north  of  Spain,  set  up  finally  in  those  regions  what  is 
known  as  the  kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  or  West  Goths  (sect.  359). 

While  the  Goths  were  making  these  migrations  and  settlements, 
a  kindred  but  less  civilized  tribe,  the  Vandals,  moving  from  their 
seat  in  Pannonia,  traversed  Gaul,  crossed  the  Pyrenees  into  Spain, 
and  there  occupied  for  a  time  a  large  tract  of  country,  which  in  its 
present  name  of  Andalusia  preserves  the  memory  of  its  barbarian 
settlers.  Then  they  crossed  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  overthrew  the 
Roman  authority  in  all  North  Africa,  and  made  Carthage  the  seat 
of  a  dread  corsair  empire  (sect.  360). 

Meanwhile  the  Franks,  who  about  a  century  before  the  sack  of 
Rome  by  Alaric  had  made  their  first  settlement  in  Roman  territory 
west  of  the  Rhine,  were  increasing  in  numbers  and  in  authority 


228 


THE  LAST  CENTURY  IX  THE  WEST 


§3.11 


and  were  laying  the  foundation  of  what  after  the  fall  of  Rome  was 
to  become  known  as  the  kingdom  of  the  Franks --the  beginning 
of  the  French  nation  of  today  (sect.  361). 

But  the  most  important  of  all  the  settlements  of  the  barbarians 
was  being  made  in  the  remote  province  of  Britain.  In  his  efforts 
to  defend  Italy  against  her  barbarian  invaders,  Stilicho  had  with- 
drawn the  last  legion  from  Britain,  and  had  thus  left  unguarded 


Fig.  75.   Germans  Crossinc;  iiii:  Kiiixe.  (After  a  drawing  by /^//)//<7;/jif 

de  A^euville) 


the  Hadrian  Wall  in  the  north  (sect.  306)  and  the  long  coast  line 
facing  the  continent.  The  Picts  of  Caledonia,  taking  advantage 
of  the  withdrawal  of  the  guardians  of  the  province,  swarmed  over 
the  unsentineled  rampart  and  pillaged  the  fields  and  towns  of  the 
south.  The  half-Romanized  and  effeminate  provincials — no  match 
for  their  hardy  kinsmen  who  had  never  bowed  their  necks  to  the 
yoke  of  Rome — were  driven  to  despair  by  the  ravages  of  their 
relentless  enemies,  and,  in  their  helplessness,  invited  to  their  aid 
the  Angles  and  Saxons  from  the  shores  of  the  North  Sea.  These 
people  came  in  their  rude  boats,  drove  back  the  invaders,  and, 


§332]  INVASION  OF  THE  HUNS  229 

being  pleased  with  the  soil  and  climate  of  the  island,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  country  for  themselves  and  became  the  ancestors  of 
the  English  people. 

332.  Invasion  of  the  Huns  ;  Battle  of  Chalons  (a.d.  451). 
The  barbarians  who  were  thus  overunning  and  parceling  out  the 
inheritance  of  the  dying  Empire  were  now  in  turn  pressed  upon 
and  terrified  by  a  foe  more  hideous  and  dreadful  in  their  eyes  than 
they  themselves  were  in  the  eyes  of  the  Roman  provincials.  These 
were  the  Mongol  Huns,  from  the  region  northwest  of  China,  of 
whom  we  have  already  caught  a  glimpse  as  they  drove  the  panic- 
stricken  Goths  across  the  Danube  (sect.  322).  At  this  time  their 
leader  was  Attila,  whom  the  affrighted  inhabitants  of  Europe  called 
the  "Scourge  of  God."  It  was  x\ttila's  boast  that  the  grass  never 
grew  again  where  once  the  hoof  of  his  horse  had  trod. 

Attila  defeated  the  armies  of  the  Eastern  Emperor  and  exacted 
tribute  from  the  court  of  Constantinople.  Then  he  turned  west- 
ward and  finally  drew  up  his  mighty  hosts  upon  the  plain  of 
Chalons,  in  the  north  of  Gaul,  and  there  awaited  the  onset  of  the 
Romans  and  their  allies.  The  conflict  was  long  and  terrible,  but 
at  last  fortune  turned  against  the  barbarians,  whose  losses  were 
enormous.  Attila  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  field  and  retreated 
with  his  shattered  hosts  across  the  Rhine. 

This  great  victory  is  placed  among  the  significant  events  of 
history ;  for  it  decided  that  the  Indo-European  folk,  and  not 
the  Mongolian  Huns,  should  inherit  the  dominions  of  the  expiring 
Roman  Empire  and  control  the  destinies  of  Europe. 

333.  Attila  threatens  Rome;  his  Death  (a.d. 453?).  The  year 
after  his  defeat  at  Chalons,  Attila  crossed  the  Alps  and  burned  or 
plundered  all  the  important  cities  of  northern  Italy.  The  Veneti 
fled  for  safety  to  the  morasses  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic  (a.d.  452 ) . 
Upon  the  islets  where  they  built  their  rude  dwellings  there  grew 
up  in  time  the  city  of  Venice,  "  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Roman 
Empire,"  the  "Carthage  of  the  Middle  Ages." 

The  barbarians  threatened  Rome ;  but  Leo  the  Great,  bishop  of 
the  capital,  went  with  an  embassy  to  the  camp  of  .\ttila  and 
pleaded  for  the  city.    He  recalled  to  the  mind  of  Attila  how  death 


230  THE  LAST  CENTURY  IX  THE  WEST  [§  334 

had  overtaken  the  impious  Alaric  soon  after  he  had  given  the 
imperial  city  as  a  spoil  to  his  warriors,  and  warned  him  not  to  call 
down  upon  himself  the  like  judgment  of  Heaven.  Attila  was 
induced  to  spare  the  city  and  to  lead  his  warriors  back  beyond 
the  Alps.  Shortly  after  he  had  crossed  the  Danube  he  died  sud- 
denly in  his  camp,  and  like  Alaric  was  buried  secretly. 

334.  Sack  of  Rome  by  the  Vandals  (a.d.  455).  Rome  had 
been  saved  a  visitation  from  the  spoiler  of  the  North,  but  a  new 
destruction  was  about  to  burst  upon  it  by  way  of  the  sea  from  the 
South.  Africa  sent  out  another  enemy  whose  greed  for  plunder 
proved  more  fatal  to  Rome  than  the  eternal  hate  of  Hannibal. 
The  kings  of  the  Vandal  empire  in  North  Africa  had  acquired  as 
perfect  a  supremacy  in  the  western  Mediterranean  as  Carthage 
ever  enjoyed  in  the  days  of  her  commercial  pride.  Vandal  corsairs 
swept  the  seas  and  harassed  all  the  shore-lands.  In  the  year  455  a 
Vandal  fleet  led  by  the  dread  Geiseric  sailed  up  the  Tiber. 

Panic  seized  the  people,  for  the  name  Vandal  was  pronounced 
with  terror  throughout  the  world.  Again  the  great  Leo,  who  had 
once  before  saved  his  flock  from  the  fury  of  Attila,  went  forth  to 
intercede  in  the  name  of  Christ  for  the  imperial  city.  Geiseric 
granted  to  the  pious  bishop  the  lives  of  the  citizens,  but  said  that 
the  movable  property  of  the  capital  belonged  to  his  warriors.  For 
fourteen  days  and  nights  the  city  was  given  over  to  the  bar- 
barians. The  ships  of  the  Vandals,  which  almost  hid  with  their 
number  the  waters  of  the  Tiber,  were  piled,  as  had  been  the  wagons 
of  the  Goths  before  them,  with  the  rich  and  weighty  spoils  of  the 
capital.  Palaces  were  stripped  of  their  furniture,  and  the  walls  of 
the  temples  denuded  of  the  trophies  of  a  hundred  Roman  victories. 
From  the  Capitoline  sanctuary  were  borne  off  the  golden  candle- 
stick and  other  sacred  things  that  Titus  had  stolen  from  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem^    (sect.  302). 

The  greed  of  the  barbarians  was  sated  at  last,  and  they  were 
ready  to  withdraw.    The  V' andal  fleet  sailed  for  Carthage,  bearing, 

'  "  The  golden  candlestick  reached  the  African  capital,  was  recovered  a  century  later, 
and  lodged  in  Constantinople  by  Justinian,  and  by  him  replaced,  from  superstitious 
motives,  in  Jerusalem.    From  that  time  its  history  is  lost."  —  Merivale 


§335]  THE  BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  231 

besides  the  plunder  of  the  city,  more  than  thirty  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants  as  slaves.  Carthage,  through  her  own  barbarian  con- 
querors, was  at  last  avenged  upon  her  hated  rival.  The  mournful 
presentiment  of  Scipio  had  been  fulfilled  (sect.  270).  The  cruel 
fate  of  Carthage  might  have  been  read  again  in  the  pillaged  city 
that  the  Vandals  left  behind  them. 

335.  Last  Act  in  the  Break-up  of  the  Empire  in  the  West 
(a.d.  476).  Only  the  shadow  of  the  Empire  in  the  West  now  re- 
mained. The  provinces  of  Gaul,  Spain,  and  Africa  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  Franks,  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  and  various  other 
intruding  tribes.  Italy,  as  well  as  Rome  herself,  had  become  again 
and  again  the  spoil  of  the  barbarians.  The  story  of  the  twenty 
years  following  the  sack  of  the  capital  by  Geiseric  affords  only  a 
repetition  of  the  events  we  have  been  narrating.  During  these 
years  several  puppet  emperors  were  set  up  by  army  leaders.  The 
last  was  a  child  of  only  six  years.  By  what  has  been  called  a  freak 
of  fortune  this  boy-sovereign  bore  the  name  of  Romulus  Augustus, 
thus  uniting  in  the  name  of  the  last  Roman  emperor  of  the  West 
the  names  of  the  founder  of  Rome  and  the  establisher  of  the 
Empire.  He  reigned  only  one  year,  when  Odoacer,  the  leader  of 
a  small  German  tribe,  dethroned  the  child-emperor. 

The  Roman  Senate  now  sent  to  Constantinople  an  embassy  to 
represent  to  the  Eastern  Emperor  Zeno  that  the  West  was  willing 
to  give  up  its  claims  to  an  emperor  of  its  own,  and  to  request  that 
the  German  chief,  with  the  title  of  patrician,  might  rule  Italy  as 
his  viceroy.  With  this  rank  and  title  Odoacer  assumed  the  govern- 
ment of  the  peninsula.  Thus  Italy,  while  remaining  nominally  a 
part  of  the  Empire,  became  in  reality  an  independent  barbarian 
kingdom,  like  those  which  had  already  been  set  up  in  the  other 
countries  of  the  West.  The  transaction  marks  not  only  the  end 
of  the  line  of  Western  Roman  emperors,  but  also  the  virtual  ex- 
tinction of  the  imperial  rule  in  the  western  provinces  of  the  Empire 
—  the  culmination  of  a  century-long  process  of  dissolution. 

This  gradual  transfer  of  leadership  from  the  failing  Roman  race 
to  the  new  barbarian  folk  was  one  of  the  most  momentous  revolu- 
tions in  European  history.    It  brought  it  about  that  the  lamp  of 


232  THE  LAST  CENTURY  IN  THE  WEST  [§  335 

culture,  which  since  the  second  century  of  the  Empire  had  burned 
with  ever  lessening  light,  was  almost  extinguished.  It  ushered  in 
the  so-called  "  Dark  Ages." 

But  the  revolution  meant  much  besides  disaster  and  loss.  It 
meant  the  enrichment  of  civilization  through  the  incoming  of  a 
new  and  splendidly  endowed  race.  Within  the  Empire  during  sev- 
eral centuries  three  of  the  most  vital  elements  of  civilization,  the 
Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  Christian,  had  been  gradually  blend- 
ing. Now  was  added  a  fourth  factor,  the  Teutonic.  It  is  this 
element  which  has  had  much  to  do  in  making  modern  civilization 
richer  and  more  progressive  than  any  preceding  civilization. 

The  downfall  of  the  Roman  imperial  government  in  the  West 
was,  further,  an  event  of  immense  significance  in  the  political 
world,  for  the  reason  that  it  rendered  possible  the  growth  in  western 
Europe  of  several  nations  or  states  in  place  of  the  single  Empire. 

Another  consequence  of  the  fall  of  Rome  was  the  development  of 
the  Papacy.  In  the  absence  of  an  emperor  in  the  West  the  popes 
rapidly  gained  influence  and  power,  and  soon  built  up  an  ecclesias- 
tical empire  that  in  some  respects  took  the  place  of  the  old  Roman 
Empire  and  carried  on  its  civilizing  work. 

References.  Tacitus,  Gcnnatiia  (the  most  valuable  original  account  that 
we  possess  of  the  tribal  life  and  customs  of  the  Germans  about  the  first  century 
of  our  era).  Hougkin,  T.,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  vols,  i,  ii  (on  the  Visigothic, 
the  Ilunnish,  and  the  Vandal  invasion).  Pelham,  Ii.  F.,  Outlines  of  Roman 
I/tstoiy,  pp.  557-572.  Dili,,  S.,  Roman  Society  in  the  Last  Ccntiny  of  the 
Western  Empire  (a  book  of  unsurpassed  value).  Curteis,  A.  M.,  Histoiy  of  the 
Roman  Empire  (from  395  to  800  A.  I).),  chaps,  vi-ix.  GiltHON,  E.,  chap,  ix, 
"  The  State  of  Germany  till  the  Invasion  of  the  Barbarians  in  the  Time  of  the 
Emperor  IJecius."  Church,  W.  K.,  I  he  /nginniiii^s  of  the  Middle  As^es  \  read 
the  introduction  and  chap.  i.  Kingsi.kv,  C,  The  Roman  and  the  Ten  ton,  lects. 
i-iii.  Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  IVorld,  chap,  vi,  "The  ISattle  of 
(Chalons,  451  a.D."  Emerton,  E.,  An  Intivdnction  to  the  Stndy  of  the  Miildle 
Ages,  chaps,  ii,  iii.  (These  chapters  cover  admirably  the  following  subjects: 
"The  Two  Races,"  "The  Hrcaking  of  the  Frontier  by  the  Visigoths,"  and 
"The  Invasion  of  the  Iluns.")  'The  Cambridge  Medieval  //iston',\'o\.  i,  chaps, 
viii-xiv,  xix,  xx.  For  the  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  Empire  in  the  West,  see 
the  following:  IIodckin,  T.,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  vol.  ii,  pp.  532-613; 
.Seei.ev,  J.  R.,  Roman  Imperialism,  lect.  ii,  pp.  37-64;  Itukv  J.  H.,  ./  Ilisto>y 
of  the  Later  Roman  Empire,  vol.  i,  chap.  iii. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

ARCHITECTURE,  LITERATURE,   LAW,   AND  SOCIAL  LIFE 
AMONG  THE  ROMANS 

I.  ARCHITECTURE  AND  ENGINEERING 

336.  Rome's  Contribution  to  Architecture.  The  architecture 
of  the  Romans  was,  in  the  main,  an  imitation  of  Greek  models. 
But  the  Romans  were  not  mere  servile  imitators.  They  not  only 
modified  the  architectural  forms  they  borrowed  but  they  gave  their 
structures  a  distinct  character  by  the  prominent  use  of  the  arch, 
which  the  Greek  and  oriental  builders  seldom  employed,  though 
they  were  acquainted  with  its  principle.  By  means  of  it  the 
Roman  builders  gave  a  new  artistic  effect  to  edifices,  vaulted  wide 
passages  and  chambers,  carried  stupendous  aqueducts  across  the 
deepest  valleys,  and  spanned  the  broadest  streams  with  bridges 
that  have  resisted  all  the  assaults  of  time  and  flood  for  eighteen 
centuries  and  more  down  to  the  present  day.  These  applications 
of  the  principle  of  the  arch  were  the  great  contribution  which  the 
Roman  architects  made  to  the  science  and  art  of  building. 

337.  Amphitheaters.  The  Romans  borrowed  the  plan  of  their 
theaters  from  the  Greeks;  their  amphitheaters,  however,  were 
original  with  them.  The  Flavian  amphitheater,  generally  desig- 
nated as  the  Colosseum,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made, 
speaks  to  us  perhaps  more  impressively  of  the  spirit  of  a  past 
civilization  than  any  other  memorial  of  the  ancient  world.  The 
ruins  of  this  immense  structure  stand  today  as  "the  embodiment 
of  the  power  and  splendor  of  the  Roman  Empire." 

Many  of  the  most  important  cities  of  Italy  and  of  the  provinces 
were  provided  with  amphitheaters  similar  in  all  essential  respects 
to  the  Colosseum  at  the  capital  only  much  inferior  in  size,  save  the 
one  at  Capua,  which  was  nearly  as  large  as  the  Flavian  structure. 

'^33 


234 


ARCHITECTURE  AND  EXGINEERIXG 


L§  33S 


338.  Aqueducts.  The  aqueducts  of  ancient  Rome  were  among 
the  most  important  of  the  utilitarian  works  of  the  Romans.  The 
water  system  of  the  capital  was  commenced  by  Appius  Claudius 
(about  313  B.C.).  During  the  Republic  four  aqueducts  in  all  were 
completed ;  under  the  emperors  the  number  was  increased  to 
fourteen.'    The  longest  of   these  was   about   fifty-five  miles  in 


'IMf^ittiiim 


i"j(i.  76.     i'liK  CoH)S.sp:u.m.  (From  a  photograph) 
Monument  of  the  glory  of  the  Empire,  and  of  its  shame. —  Dili. 

length.  The  aqueducts  usually  ran  beneath  the  surface,  but  when 
a  depression  was  to  be  crossed  they  were  lifted  on  arches,  which 
sometimes  were  over  one  hundred  feet  high.-  These  lofty  arches 
running  in  long,  broken  lines  over  the  plains  beyond  the  walls 
of  Rome  are  today  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  Campagna. 

339.  Thermae,  or  Baths.  Among  the  ancient  Romans  bathing 
became  in  time  a  lu.xurious  art.  Under  the  Republic  bathing 
houses  were  erected  in  considerable  numbers.  But  it  was  during 
the  imperial  period  that  those  magnificent  structures  to  which  the 

'  .Several  of  these  are  still  in  use. 

2  The  Romans  carried  their  aqueducts  across  depressions  and  valleys  on  high 
arches  of  masonry,  not  because  they  were  ignorant  of  the  principle  that  water  seeks 
a  level,  but  for  the  reason  that  they  could  not  make  large  pipes  strong  enough  to 
resist  the  very  great  pressure  to  which  they  would  be  subjected. 


§340]  ROMAN  LITERATURE  235 

name  ThermcB  properly  attaches,  were  erected.  These  edifices 
were  among  the  most  elaborate  and  expensive  of  the  imperial 
works.  They  contained  chambers  for  cold,  hot,  and  swimming 
baths ;  dressing  rooms  and  gymnasia ;  museums  and  libraries ; 
covered  colonnades  for  lounging  and  conversation ;  and  every 
other  adjunct  that  could  add  to  the  sense  of  luxury  and  relaxa- 
tion.^ Being  intended  to  exhibit  the  liberality  of  their  builders, 
they  were  thrown  open  to  the  public  free  of  charge. 

II.  LITERATURE,  PHILOSOPH\^  AND  LAW 

340.  Relation  of  Roman  to  Greek  Literature  :  the  Poets  of 
the  Republican  Era.  Latin  literature  was  almost  wholly  imitative 
or  borrowed,  being  a  reproduction  of  Greek  models  ;  nevertheless  it 
performed  a  most  important  service  for  civilization:  it  was  the 
medium  for  the  dissemination  throughout  the  world  of  the  rich 
literary  treasures  of  Greece. 

It  was  the  dramatic  works  of  the  Greeks  which  were  first 
studied  and  copied  at  Rome.  Plautus  and  Terence  (who  wrote 
under  the  later  Republic)  are  the  most  noted  of  the  Roman  drama- 
tists. Most  of  their  plays  were  simply  adaptations  of  Greek  pieces. 

During  the  later  republican  era  there  appeared  two  eminent 
poets,  Lucretius  and  Catullus.  Lucretius  was  an  evolutionist,  and 
in  his  great  poem  On  the  Nature  oj  Things  we  find  anticipated 
many  of  the  conclusions  of  modern  scientists.  Catullus  was  a  lyric 
poet.  He  has  been  called  the  Roman  Burns,  as  well  on  account  of 
the  waywardness  of  his  life  as  from  the  sweetness  of  his  song. 

341.  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age.  Three  poets — Vergil  (70- 
19  B.C.),  Horace  (65-8  B.c.),and  Ovid  (43  b.c.-a.d.  18) — have 
cast  an  unfading  luster  over  the  period  covered  by  the  reign  of  Au- 
gustus. So  distinguished  have  these  writers  rendered  the  age  in 
which  they  lived,  that  any  period  in  a  people's  literature  signalized 
by  exceptional  literary  taste  and  refinement  is  called,  in  allusion 
to  this  Roman  era,  an  Augustan  Age. 

1  I.anciani  calls  these  imperial  Thoniia'  '' ^'i^antie  cluhhmiscs,  wliitlicr  tlie  volup 
tuarv  and  the  elegant  yoiilh  repaired  fur  pastime  and  enjoyment. " 


236         LITERATURE,  JPHILOSOPHY,  AND  LAW       L§  342 

342.  Oratory  among  the  Romans.  "Public  oratory,"  as  has 
been  truly  said,  "is  the  child  of  political  freedom,  and  cannot  exist 
without  it."  We  have  seen  this  illustrated  in  the  history  of  the 
democratic  cities  of  Greece  (sect.  205).  Equally  well  is  it  shown 
by  records  of  the  Roman  state.  All  the  great  orators  of  Rome 
arose  under  the  Republic.  Among  these  Hortensius  ( 1 14-50  B.C.), 
a  learned  jurist,  and  ^Marcus  Tullius  Cicero  (106-43  B.C.)  stand 
preeminent.  Of  these  two  Cicero  is  easily  first, — "the  most  elo- 
quent of  all  the  sons  of  Romulus."^ 

343.  Latin  Historians.  Ancient  Rome  produced  four  writers 
of  history  whose  works  have  won  for  them  a  permanent  fame, — 
Caesar,  Sallust,  Livy,  and  Tacitus.  Of  Caesar  and  his  Commen- 
taries 071  the  Gallic  War  we  have  learned  in  a  previous  chapter. 
His  Commentaries  will  always  be  cited  along  with  the  Anabasis 
of  Xenophon  as  a  model  of  the  narrative  style  of  writing.  Sallust 
(86-34  B.C.)  was  the  contemporary  and  friend  of  Caesar.  The 
Conspiracy  of  Catiline  is  one  of  his  chief  works. 

Livy  (59B.C.-A.D.  17)  was  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of 
the  Augustan  Age.  Herodotus  among  the  ancient,  and  Macaulay 
among  the  modern,  writers  of  historical  narrative  are  the  names 
with  which  his  is  oftenest  compared.  His  greatest  work  is  his 
Annals,  a  history  of  Rome  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  year  9  b.c. 
Unfortunately,  only  thirty-five  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
books-  of  this  admirable  production  have  been  preserved.  Many 
have  been  the  laments  over  "the  lost  books  of  Livy."  As  a  chron- 
icle of  actual  events,  Livy's  history,  particularly  in  its  earlier 
parts,  is  very  unreliable ;  however,  it  is  invaluable  as  an  account 
of  what  the  Romans  themselves  believed  respecting  the  origin  of 
their  race,  the  founding  of  their  city,  and  the  deeds  and  virtues 
of  their  forefathers. 

1  Even  more  highly  prized  than  his  orations  are  his  letters,  for  Cicero  was  a  most 
delightful  letter  writer.  His  letters  to  his  friend  Atticus  are  among  the  most  charming 
specimens  of  that  species  of  composition. 

2  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  book  in  the  ancient  sense  was  simply  a  roll  of 
manuscript  or  parchment,  and  contained  noihing  like  the  amount  of  matter  held  by  an 
ordinary  modern  volume.  Thus  C.Tsar's  Ga/lii  Wars,  which  makes  a  single  volume  of 
moderate  size  with  us,  made  eight  Roman  books. 


§344]        SCIENCE,  ETHICS,  AND  PHILOSOPHY  237 

The  most  highly  prized  work  of  Tacitus  is  his  Germania,  a 
treatise  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Germans.  In  this  work 
Tacitus  sets  in  strong  contrast  the  virtues  of  the  untutored 
Germans  and  the  vices  of  the  cultured  Romans. 

344.  Science,  Ethics,  and  Philosophy.  Under  this  head  may 
be  grouped  the  names  of  Seneca,  Pliny  the  Elder,  Marcus  Aurelius, 
and  Epictetus. 

Seneca  (about  a.d.  1-65),  moralist  and  philosopher,  has  already 
come  to  our  notice  as  the  tutor  of  Nero  (sect.  301).  He  was  a 
disbeliever  in  the  popular  religion  of  his  countrymen,  and  enter- 
tained conceptions  of  God  and  his  moral  government  not  very 
different  from  those  of  Socrates. 

Pliny  the  Elder  (a.d.  23-79)  ^s  almost  the  only  Roman  who  won 
renown  as  an  investigator  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  The  only 
work  of  his  that  has  been  spared  to  us  is  his  Natural  History,  a 
sort  of  Roman  encyclopedia. 

Marcus  Aurelius  the  emperor  and  Epictetus  the  slave  hold  the 
first  place  among  the  ethical  teachers  of  Rome.  They  were  the 
last  eminent  representatives  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Stoics. 

345.  Writers  of  the  Early  Latin  Church.  The  Christian  au- 
thors of  the  first  two  centuries,  like  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, employed  the  Greek,  that  being  the  language  of  learning 
and  culture.  As  the  Latin  tongue,  however,  gradually  came  into 
more  general  use  throughout  the  West,  the  Christian  writers 
naturally  began  to  use  it  in  the  composition  of  their  works.  Hence 
almost  all  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  produced  in 
the  western  half  of  the  Empire  during  the  later  imperial  period 
were  composed  in  Latin.  Among  the  many  names  that  adorn  the 
Church  literature  of  this  period  must  be  mentioned  St.  Jerome 
and  St.  Augustine. 

Jerome  (a.d.  342  ?-42o)  is  held  in  memory  especially  through 
his  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  Latin.  This  version  is  known 
as  the  Vulgate,  and  is  the  one  which,  with  slight  changes,  is  still 
used  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  "It  was  to  Europe  of  the 
Middle  Ages,"  asserts  an  eminent  authority,  "more  than  Homer 
was  to  Greece." 


238         LITERATURE,  PHILOSOPHY,  AND  LAW       [§  .^46 

Aurelius  Augustine  (a. d.  354-430)  was  born  near  Carthage,  in 
Africa.  His  City  of  God,  a  truly  wonderful  work,  possesses  a 
special  interest  for  the  historian.  The  book  was  written  just  when 
Rome  was  becoming  the  spoil  of  the  barbarians.  It  was  designed 
to  answer  the  charge  of  the  pagans  that  Christianity,  turning  the 
people  away  from  the  worship  of  the  ancient  gods,  was  the  cause 
of  the  calamities  that  were  befalling  the  Roman  state. 

346.  Roman  Law  and  Law  Literature.  Although  the  Latin 
writers  in  all  the  departments  of  literary  effort  which  we  have  so 
far  reviewed  did  much  valuable  work,  yet  the  Roman  intellect  in 
all  these  directions  was  under  Greek  guidance.  But  in  another 
department  it  was  different.  We  mean,  of  course,  the  field  of  legal 
or  juristic  science.  Here  the  Romans  ceased  to  be  pupils  and 
became  teachers.  Nations,  like  men,  have  their  mission.  Rome's 
mission  was  to  give  laws  to  the  world. 

In  the  year  527  of  the  Christian  era  Justinian  became  emperor 
of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  East.  He  almost  immediately  ap- 
pointed a  commission,  headed  by  the  great  lawyer  Tribonian,  to 
collect  and  arrange  in  a  systematic  manner  the  immense  mass  of 
Roman  laws  and  the  writings  of  the  jurists.  The  undertaking  was 
like  that  of  the  decemvirs  in  connection  with  the  Twelve  Tables, 
only  far  greater.  The  result  of  the  work  of  the  commission  was 
what  is  known  as  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis,  or  "  Body  of  the  Civil 
Law."  This  consisted  of  three  parts, —  the  Code,  the  Pandects,  and 
the  Institutes.  The  Code  was  a  revised  and  compressed  collection 
of  all  the  laws,  instructions  to  judicial  officers,  and  opinions  on 
legal  subjects  promulgated  by  the  different  emperors  since  the  time 
of  Hadrian  ;  the  Pandects  (all-containing)  were  a  digest  or  abridg- 
ment of  the  writings,  opinions,  and  decisions  of  the  most  eminent 
of  the  old  Roman  jurists  and  lawyers.  The  Institutes  were  a  con- 
densed edition  of  the  Pandects,  and  were  intended  to  form  an 
elementary  textbook  for  the  use  of  students. 

The  body  of  the  Roman  law  thus  preserved  and  transmitted 
was  the  great  contribution  of  the  Latin  intellect  to  civilization.  It 
has  exerted  a  profound  influence  upon  the  law  systems  of  almost 
all  the  European  peoples.    Thus  does  the  once  little  Palatine  city 


§  347]  EDUCATION  239 

of  the  Tiber  still  rule  the  world.  The  religion  of  Judea,  the  arts 
of  Greece,  and  the  laws  of  Rome  are  three  very  real  and  potent 
elements  in  modern  civilization. 

III.  SOCIAL  LIFE 

347.  Education.  Under  the  Republic  there  were  no  public 
schools  in  Rome ;  education  was  a  private  affair.  Under  the  early 
Empire  a  mixed  system  prevailed,  there  being  both  public  and 
private  schools.  Later,  education  came  more  completely  under  the 
supervision  of  the  state.  The  salaries  of  the  teachers  and  lecturers 
were  usually  paid  by  the  municipalities,  but  sometimes  from  the 
imperial  chest. 

The  education  of  the  Roman  boy  differed  from  that  of  the 
Greek  youth  in  being  more  practical.  The  laws  of  the  Twelve 
Tables  were  committed  to  memory  ;  and  rhetoric  and  oratory  were 
given  special  attention,  as  a  mastery  of  the  art  of  public  speaking 
was  an  almost  indispensable  acquirement  for  the  Roman  citizen 
who  aspired  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of  state. 

After  their  conquest  of  Magna  Graecia  and  Greece  the  Romans 
were  brought  into  closer  relations  with  Greek  culture  than  had 
hitherto  existed.  The  Roman  youth  were  taught  the  language  of 
Athens,  often  to  the  neglect,  it  appears,  of  their  native  tongue. 
Young  men  belonging  to  families  of  means  not  unusually  went  to 
Greece,  just  as  the  graduates  of  our  schools  go  to  Europe,  to  finish 
their  education.  Many  of  the  most  prominent  statesmen  of  Rome, 
as,  for  instance,  Cicero  and  Julius  Caesar,  received  the  advantages 
of  this  higher  training  in  the  schools  of  Greece. 

Somewhere  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen  the  boy 
exchanged  his  purple-hemmed  toga,  or  gown,  for  one  of  white  wool, 
which  was  in  all  places  and  at  all  times  the  significant  badge  of 
Roman  citizenship  and  Roman  equality. 

348.  Social  Position  of  Woman.  Until  after  her  marriage  the 
daughter  of  the  family  was  kept  in  almost  oriental  seclusion.  Mar- 
riage gave  her  a  certain  freedom.  She  might  now  be  present  at 
the  races  of  the  circus  and  the  shows  of  the  theater  and  amphi- 
theater,—  a  privilege  rarely  accorded  to  her  before  marriage. 


240  SOCIAL  LIFE  [§  349 

In  the  early  virtuous  period  of  the  Roman  state  the  wife  and 
mother  held  a  dignified  and  assured  position  in  the  household,  and 
divorces  were  unusual,  there  being  no  instance  of  one,  it  is  said, 
until  the  year  231  B.C.;  but  in  later  times  her  position  became 
less  honored  and  divorce  grew  to  be  very  common.  The  husband 
had  the  right  to  divorce  his  wife  for  the  slightest  cause  or  for  no 
cause  at  all.  In  this  disregard  of  the  sanctity  of  the  family  relation 
may  doubtless  be  found  one  cause  of  the  degeneracy  and  failure 
of  the  Roman  stock. 

349.  Public  Amusements ;  the  Theater  and  the  Circus.  The 
entertainments  of  the  theater,  the  games  of  the  circus,  and  the 
combats  of  the  amphitheater  were  the  three  principal  public 
amusements  of  the  Romans.  These  entertainments,  in  general, 
increased  in  popularity  as  liberty  declined,  the  great  festive  gather- 
ings at  the  various  places  of  amusement  taking  the  place  of  the 
political  assemblies  of  the  Republic. 

Tragedy  was  never  held  in  high  esteem  at  Rome ;  the  people 
saw  too  much  real  tragedy  in  the  exhibitions  of  the  amphitheater 
to  care  much  for  the  make-believe  tragedies  of  the  stage.  The 
entertainments  of  the  theaters  usually  took  the  form  of  comedies, 
farces,  and  pantomimes.  The  last  were  particularly  popular,  both 
because  the  vast  size  of  the  theaters  made  it  quite  impossible  for 
the  actor  to  make  his  voice  heard  throughout  the  structure  and 
for  the  reason  that  the  language  of  signs  was  the  only  language 
that  could  be  readily  understood  by  an  audience  made  up  of  so 
many  different  nationalities  as  composed  a  Roman  assemblage. 
Almost  from  the  beginning  the  Roman  stage  was  gross  and  immoral. 
It  was  one  of  the  main  agencies  to  which  must  be  attributed  the 
undermining  of  the  originally  sound  moral  life  of  Roman  society. 

More  important  and  more  popular  than  the  entertainments  of 
the  theater  were  the  various  games  of  the  circus,  especially  the 
chariot  races. 

350.  Gladiatorial  Combats.  But  far  surpassing  in  their  terrible 
fascination  all  other  public  amusements  were  the  gladiatorial  com- 
bats of  the  amphitheater.  These  seem  to  have  had  their  origin  in 
Etruria,  whence  they  were  brought  to  Rome.    It  was  a  custom 


§350] 


GLADIATORIAL  COMBATS 


241 


among  the  early  Etruscans  to  slay  prisoners  upon  the  warrior's 
grave,  it  being  thought  that  the  manes  of  the  dead  delighted  in 
the  blood  of  such  victims.  In  later  times  the  prisoners  were 
allowed  to  fight  and  kill  one  another,  this  being  deemed  more 
humane  than  slaying  them  in  cold  blood. 

The  first  gladiatorial  spectacle  at  Rome  was  presented  by  two 
sons  at  the  funeral  of  their  father  in  the  year  264  b.c.  From  this 
time  the  public  taste  for 
this  species  of  enter- 
tainment grew  rapidly, 
and  by  the  beginning 
of  the  imperial  period 
had  become  a  perfect 
infatuation.  It  was  now 
no  longer  the  manes  of 
the  dead,  but  the  spirits 
of  the  living  that  the 
spectacles  were  intended 
to  appease.  At  first  the 
combatants  were  slaves, 
captives,  or  condemned 
criminals ;  but  at  last 
knights,    senators,    and 

even  women  descended  voluntarily  into  the  arena.  Training 
schools  were  established  at  Rome  and  in  other  cities.  Free  citizens 
often  sold  themselves  to  the  keepers  of  these  seminaries ;  and  to 
them  flocked  desperate  men  of  all  classes  and  ruined  spendthrifts 
of  the  noblest  patrician  houses.  Slaves  and  criminals  were  en- 
couraged to  become  proficient  in  the  art  by  the  promise  of  freedom 
if  they  survived  the  combats  beyond  a  certain  number  of  years. 

Sometimes  the  gladiators  fought  in  pairs ;  again,  great  com- 
panies engaged  at  once  in  the  deadly  fray.  They  fought  in  chariots, 
on  horseback,  on  foot, — ^in  all  the  ways  that  soldiers  were  accus- 
tomed to  fight  in  actual  battle.  The  life  of  a  wounded  gladiator 
was,  in  ordinary  cases,  in  the  hands  of  the  audience.  If  in  response 
to  his  appeal  for  mercy,  which  was  made  by  outstretching  the 


Fig.  78.    Gladiators.    (From   an   ancient 
mosaic) 


242  SOCIAL  LIFE  [§351 

forefinger,  the  spectators  waved  their  handkerchiefs  or  reached 
out  their  hands  with  thumbs  extended,  that  indicated  that  his 
prayer  had  been  heard  ;  but  if  they  extended  their  hands  with 
thumbs  turned  in,  that  was  the  signal  for  the  victor  to  give  him 
the  death  stroke. 

The  rivalries  between  ambitious  leaders  during  the  later  years 
of  the  Republic  tended  greatly  to  increase  the  number  of  gladia- 
torial shows,  as  liberality  in  arranging  these  spectacles  was  a  sure 
passport  to  popular  favor :  magistrates  were  expected  to  give  them 
in  connection  with  the  public  festivals ;  the  heads  of  aspiring 
families  exhibited  them  "in  order  to  acquire  social  position"; 
wealthy  citizens  prepared  them  as  an  indispensable  feature  of  a 
fashionable  banquet ;  the  children  caught  the  spirit  of  their  elders 
and  imitated  them  in  their  plays.  It  was  reserved  for  the  em- 
perors, however,  to  exhibit  them  on  a  truly  imperial  scale.  Titus, 
upon  the  dedication  of  the  Flavian  amphitheater,  provided  games, 
mostly  gladiatorial  combats,  that  lasted  one  hundred  days.  Trajan 
celebrated  his  victories  with  shows  that  continued  still  longer, 
in  the  progress  of  which  ten  thousand  gladiators  fought  upon 
the  arena.^ 

351.  Luxury.  By  luxury,  as  we  shall  use  the  word,  we  mean 
extravagant  and  self-indulgent  living.  This  vice  seems  to  have 
been  almost  unknown  in  early  Rome.  The  primitive  Romans 
were  men  of  frugal  habits,  who  found  contentment  in  poverty 
and  disdained  riches.  A  great  change,  however,  as  we  have  seen, 
passed  over  Roman  society  after  the  conquest  of  the  East  and  the 
development  of  the  corrupt  provincial  system  of  the  later  Re- 
public. The  colossal  fortunes  quickly  and  dishonestly  amassed  by 
the  ruling  class  marked  the  incoming  at  Rome  of  such  a  reign  of 
luxury  as  perhaps  no  other  capital  of  the  world  ever  witnessed. 
This  luxury  was  at  its  height  in  the  last  century  of  the  Republic 
and  the  first  of  the  Empire.  Never  perhaps  has  great  wealth  been 
more  grossly  misused  than  during  this  period  at  Rome.  A  char- 
acteristically Roman  vice  of  this  age  was  gluttony,  or  gross 
table-indulgence. 

1  For  the  suppression  of  tlic  gladiatorial  games,  sec  sect.  328. 


§352]  STATE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CORN  243 

352.  State  Distribution  of  Corn.  The  free  distribution  of  corn 
at  Rome  has  been  characterized  as  the  "leading  fact  of  Roman 
life."  It  will  be  recalled  that  this  pernicious  practice  had  its 
beginnings  in  the  legislation  of  Gains  Gracchus  (sect.  275).  Just 
before  the  establishment  of  the  Empire  over  three  hundred  thou- 
sand Roman  citizens  were  recipients  of  this  state  bounty.  The 
corn  for  this  enormous  distribution  was  derived,  in  large  part,  from 
a  grain  tribute  exacted  of  the  African  and  other  corn-producing 
provinces.  In  the  third  century,  to  the  largesses  of  corn  were  added 
doles  of  oil,  wine,  and  pork. 

The  evils  that  resulted  from  this  misdirected  state  charity  can 
hardly  be  overstated.  Idleness  and  all  its  accompanying  vices 
were  fostered  to  such  a  degree  that  we  probably  shall  not  be  wrong 
in  citing  the  practice  as  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  demoraliz- 
ation of  society  at  Rome  under  the  emperors. 

353.  Slavery.  The  number  of  slaves  under  the  later  Republic 
and  the  earlier  Empire  was  very  great,  some  estimates  making  it 
equal  to  the  number  of  freemen.  Some  large  proprietors  owned  as 
many  as  twenty  thousand.  The  love  of  ostentation  led  to  the 
multiplication  of  offices  in  the  households  of  the  wealthy  and  the 
employment  of  a  special  slave  for  every  different  kind  of  work. 
Thus,  in  some  families  there  was  kept  a  slave  whose  sole  duty  it 
was  to  care  for  his  master's  sandals.  The  price  of  slaves  varied 
from  a  few  dollars  to  ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollars, — these  last 
figures  being  of  course  exceptional.  Greek  slaves  were  the  most 
valuable,  as  their  lively  intelligence  rendered  them  serviceable  in 
positions  calling  for  special  talent. 

The  slave  class  was  chiefly  recruited,  as  in  Greece,  by  war  and 
by  the  practice  of  kidnaping.  Some  of  the  outlying  provinces 
in  Asia  and  Africa  were  almost  depopulated  by  the  slave  hunters. 
Delinquent  taxpayers  were  often  sold  as  slaves,  and  frequently 
poor  persons  sold  themselves  into  servitude. 

The  feeling  entertained  toward  this  unfortunate  class  in  the 
later  republican  period  is  illustrated  by  Varro's  classification  of 
slaves  as  "vocal  agricultural  implements,"  and  again  by  Cato  the 
Censor's  recommendation  to  masters  to  sell  their  old  and  decrepit 


244  SOCIAL  LIFE  [§353 

slaves  in  order  to  save  the  expense  of  caring  for  them.  In  many 
cases,  as  a  measure  of  precaution,  the  slaves  were  forced  to  work 
in  chains  and  to  sleep  in  subterranean  prisons.  Their  bitter  hatred 
toward  their  masters,  engendered  by  harsh  treatment,  is  witnessed 
by  the  well-known  prov^erb,  "As  many  enemies  as  slaves,"  and 
by  the  servile  revolts  of  the  republican  period. 

Slaves  were  treated  better  under  the  Empire  than  under  the 
later  Republic, —  a  change  to  be  attributed  doubtless  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Stoicism  and  of  Christianity.  From  the  first  century  of 
the  Empire  forward  there  is  observable  a  growing  sentiment  of 
humanity  toward  the  bondsman.  Imperial  edicts  took  away  from 
the  master  the  right  to  kill  his  slave  or  to  sell  him  to  the  trader 
in  gladiators,  or  even  to  treat  him  with  undue  severity,  while  the 
Christian  priests  encouraged  the  freeing  of  slaves  as  an  act  good 
for  the  soul  of  the  master. 

Besides  the  teachings  of  philosophy  and  religion  other  influences, 
social  and  economic,  were  at  work  ameliorating  the  lot  of  the  slave, 
and  gradually  changing  the  harsh  system  of  slavery  as  it  had 
developed  in  the  ancient  world  into  the  milder  system  of  serfdom, 
which  characterized  the  society  and  life  of  the  Middle  Ages.  This 
great  revolution,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  single  change, 
marked  the  transformation  of  the  ancient  into  the  mediaeval  world 
and  announced  the  opening  of  a  new  epoch  in  history. 

References.  Lanciani,  R.,  A>u-ie>it  Rome  hi  the  I.ii^ht  of  Recent  Discoveries 
and  A<?7i'  Discoveries  in  the  I'orur/i.  Fowi.ER,  II.  N.,  History  of  Roinan  Liter- 
ature. Sellar,  W.  \ .,  The  Rovuiii  Poets  of  the  Republic  and  The  Ro»iaii  Poets 
of  the  Aiti^iistaii  //.j,'-^,  2  vols.  IIadi.KY,  J.,  Introduction  to  Roman  Tmo,  lect.  iii, 
"  The  Roman  Law  before  Justinian."  Giuhon,  E.,  chap,  xliv  (for  Roman  juris- 
prudence ;  this  chapter  is  one  of  the  most  noted  of  Gibbon's  great  work). 
I.N'GE,  W.  R.,  Social  Life  in  Rome  under  the  Cirsars.  Dim,,  S.,  Roman  Society  in 
the  Last  Centjtryt  of  the  Western  Empire  (read  bi<.  v,  "  Characteristics  of  Roman 
Education  and  Culture  in  the  Fifth  Century  ").  Preston,  H.  W.,  and  DonnE, 
L.,  7he  PriiHite  Life  of  the  Romans.  Gii.MAN,  A.,  The  Story'  of  Rome, c\\7i^.yi\\\\, 
"Some  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Roman  People."  Johnsto.n,  II.  W.,  The 
Private  Life  of  the  Romans.  Friedlanuer,  L.,  Roman  Life  and  Manners, 
3  vols.  Davis,  W.  S.,  The  Influence  of  Wealth  in  Imperial  Rome.  AuboTT,  F.  F., 
The  Common  People  of  Ancient  Rome. 


PART  II.    MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN 
HISTORY 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

INTRODUCTION 

354.  Preliminary  Survey.  As  has  already  been  noted,  the 
fourteen  centuries  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West 
are  usually  conceived  as  forming  two  periods, —  the  Middle  Ages, 
or  the  period  lying  between  the  fall  of  Rome  and  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus  in  1492,  and  the  Modern  Age,  which  ex- 
tends from  the  latter  event  to  the  present  time.^  The  Middle  Ages 
again  naturally  subdivide  into  two  periods, —  the  Dark  Ages  and 
the  Age  of  Revival ;  while  the  Modern  Age,  as  we  shall  view  it, 
also  falls  into  two  divisions, —  the  Era  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion and  the  Era  of  the  Political  Revolution. 

The  Dark  Ages,  which  extend  from  the  fall  of  Rome  to  about 
the  end  of  the  tenth  or  the  opening  of  the  eleventh  century,  mark 
a  period  of  decline  in  civilization-  and  a  great  lessening  of  the 
light  of  culture  which  for  a  thousand  years  and  more  had  illumined 
the  Mediterranean  lands.  The  period  was  one  of  origins — of  the 
beginnings  of  peoples,  of  languages,  and  of  institutions. 

The  Age  of  Revival  begins  about  the  opening  of  the  eleventh 
century  and  merges  with  a  new  epoch  during  the  fifteenth  —  the 
century  which  marks  the  discovery  of  the  New  World.  During  all 
this  time  civilization  was  making  slow  but  sure  advances:  social 
order  was  gradually  triumphing  over  feudal  anarchy,  and  gov- 
ernments were  becoming  more  regular.  The  last  part  of  the 
period  especially  was  marked  by  a  great  intellectual  revival, — a 

1  See  p.  12,  n.  i. 

2  This  was  a  coiitiniuition  of  the  decline  which  had  begun  before  the  break-up  of  the 
Western  Roman  Kmi)ire.   See  Aitc'unt  History,  2d  Kev.  Ed.,  sect.  54S. 

245 


246  INTRODUCTION  [§  355 

movement  known  as  the  Renaissance,  or  "New  Birth," — by  im- 
provements, inventions,  and  discoveries,  which  greatly  stirred  men's 
minds  and  awakened  them  as  from  a  sleep.  The  epoch  witnessed 
the  great  struggle  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire,  the  two  most  historically  important  institutions  of  the 
mediaeval  time.  The  Crusades,  or  Holy  Wars,  were  the  most 
remarkable  undertakings  of  the  age. 

The  Era  of  the  Rejormation  embraces  the  sixteenth  century 
and  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth.  The  period  is  characterized 
by  the  great  religious  movement  known  as  the  Reformation,  and 
the  tremendous  struggle  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism. 
Almost  all  the  wars  of  the  period  were  religious  wars.  The  last 
great  combat  was  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in  Germany,  which  was 
closed  by  the  celebrated  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648.  After 
this  date  the  disputes  and  wars  between  parties  and  nations  were 
dynastic  or  political  rather  than  religious  in  character. 

The  Era  of  the  Political  Revolution  extends  from  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia  to  the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  19 19.  The  age  is  espe- 
cially characterized  by  a  prolonged  conflict  between  despotic  and 
liberal  principles  of  government.  Outstanding  events  of  the  epoch 
were  the  English  Revolution  of  1688,  the  American  Revolution  of 
1776,  the  French  Revolution  of  1789,  and  the  World  War  of  1914. 

Having  now  made  a  general  survey  of  the  region  we  are  to 
traverse,  having  marked  the  successive  stages  of  the  progressive 
course  of  European  civilization, —  the  intellectual,  the  religious, 
and  the  political  revolution, —  we  must  turn  back  to  our  starting 
point,  the  fall  of  Rome. 

355.  Relation  to  World  History  of  the  Fall  of  Rome.  The 
calamity  which  in  the  fifth  century  befell  the  Roman  Empire  in 
the  West  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  an  event  marking  the  extinc- 
tion of  ancient  civilization.  The  treasures  of  the  Old  World  are 
represented  as  having  been  destroyed,  and  mankind  as  obliged 
to  take  a  fresh  start, — to  lay  the  foundations  of  civilization  anew. 
It  was  not  so.  All  or  almost  all  that  was  really  valuable  in  the 
accumulations  of  antiquity  escaped  harm,  and  became  sooner  or 
later  the  possession  of  the  succeeding  ages. 


§356]    ELEMENTS  OF  EUROPEAN  CIVILIZATION       247 

The  event  was  not  an  unrelieved  calamity,  because  fortunately 
the  floods  that  seemed  to  be  sweeping  so  much  away  were  not  the 
mountain  torrent,  which  covers  fruitful  fields  with  worthless  drift, 
but  the  overflowing  Nile  with  its  rich  deposits.  Over  all  the 
regions  covered  by  the  barbarian  inundation  a  new  stratum  of 
population  was  thrown  down,  a  new  soil  formed  that  was  capable 
of  nourishing  a  better  civilization  than  any  the  world  had  yet 
seen.  Or,  to  use  the  figure  of  Draper,  we  may  liken  the  precipi- 
tation of  the  northern  barbarians  upon  the  expiring  Roman 
Empire  to  the  heaping  of  fresh  fuel  upon  a  dying  fire  ;  for  a 
tim.e  it  burns  lower  and  seems  almost  extinguished,  but  soon  it 
bursts  through  the  added  fuel,  and  flames  up  with  redoubled 
energy  and  ardor. 

356.  The  Three  Chief  Elements  of  European  Civilization.  We 
must  now  notice  what  survived  the  catastrophe  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, what  it  was  that  Rome  transmitted  to  the  peoples  of  the  new- 
forming  world.  This  renders  necessary  an  analysis  of  the  elements 
of  European  civilization. 

European  civilization  is  largely  the  result  of  the  blending  of 
three  historic  elements, —  the  Classical,  the  Hebrew,  and  the 
Teutonic. 

By  the  classical  element  in  civilization  is  meant  that  whole 
body  of  arts,  sciences,  literatures,  laws,  manners,  ideas,  social 
arrangements,  and  models  of  imperial  and  municipal  government 
—  everything,  in  a  word,  save  Christianity  —  that  Greece  and 
Rome  gave  to  mediaeval  and  modern  Europe.  Taken  together, 
these  things  constituted  a  valuable  gift  to  the  new  northern  race 
that  was  henceforth  to  represent  civilization.  It  is  true  that  the 
barbarian  invaders  of  the  Empire  seemed  at  first  utterly  indifferent 
to  these  things;  that  the  masterpieces  of  antique  art  were  buried 
beneath  the  rubbish  of  sacked  villas  and  cities;  and  that  the  pre- 
cious manuscripts  of  the  old  sages  and  poets,  because  they  were 
pagan  productions  and  hence  regarded  as  dangerous  to  Christian 
faith,  were  often  suffered  to  lie  neglected  in  the  libraries  of  cathe- 
drals and  convents.  Nevertheless,  classical  antiquity,  as  we  shall 
learn,  was  the  instructor  of  the  INIiddle  Ages. 


248         .  INTRODUCTION  {H^l 

By  the  Hebrew  element  in  history  is  meant  Christianity.  This 
has  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  modern  civilization.  It  tamed 
the  barbarian  conquerors  of  Rome.  It  filled  Europe  with  mon- 
asteries, cathedrals,  and  schools.  It  inspired  the  Crusades  and 
aided  powerfully  in  the  creation  of  chivalry.  In  short,  it  has  so 
colored  the  life  and  so  molded  the  institutions  of  the  European 
peoples  that  their  history  is  very  largely  a  story  of  this  religion, 
which,  first  going  forth  from  Judea,  was  given  to  the  younger 
world  by  the  missionaries  of  Rome.  Among  the  doctrines  taught 
by  the  new  religion  were  the  unity  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of 
man,  and  immortality, — doctrines  which  have  greatly  helped  to 
make  the  modern  so  different  from  the  ancient  world. 

By  the  Teutonic  element  in  history  is  meant  the  barbarian 
peoples  of  Indo-European  speech — the  Goths,  Franks,  Danes, 
Angles,  Saxons,  and  kindred  tribes'^ — who  at .  the  time  of  the 
break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  dwelt  in  central  and  northwestern 
Europe  or  had  pushed  into  the  Roman  provinces  and  taken  part 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  Imperial  Roman  government.  These  folk, 
though  of  course  they  had  the  social  institutions  and  customs 
of  a  primitive  people,  were  poor  in  those  things  in  which  the 
Romans  were  rich.  They  had  neither  arts,  nor  sciences,  nor 
philosophies.  But  they  possessed,  in  general,  a  fine  capacity 
for  growth  and  culture  and  achievement ;  and  because  of 
this  they  were  destined  to  play  a  great  role  in  the  history  of 
later  times. 

357.  Celts,  Slavs,  and  Other  Peoples.  Having  noticed  the 
Romans  and  the  Teutons,  the  two  most  important  of  the  peoples 
that  present  themselves  to  us  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Rome,  if 
we  now  name  the  Celts,  the  Slavs,  the  Arabians,  and  the  Mongols 
and  Turks,  we  shall  have  under  view  the  chief  actors  in  the 
drama  of  mediaeval  and  of  a  large  part  of  modern  history. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  mediaeval  era  the  Celts  were  in 
front  of  the  Teutons,  clinging  to  the  western  edge  of  the  Euro- 
pean continent,  and  engaged  in  a  bitter  contest  with  these  latter 

1  As  to  race,  they  belonged,  in  the  main,  to  the  "  Nordic "  race  of  present-day 
anthropologists. 


§357]        CELTS,  SLAVS,  AND  OTHER  PEOPLES  249 

folk,  which,  in  the  antagonism  of  England  and  Ireland,  was 
destined  to  extend  itself  to  our  own  day. 

The  Slavs  were  in  the  rear  of  the  Teutonic  tribes,  pressing 
them  on,  even  as  the  Celts  in  front  were  struggling  to  resist  their 
advance.  These  peoples,  backward  in  civilization,  will  play  only 
an  obscure  part  in  the  transactions  of  the  mediaeval  era,  but  in 
the  course  of  the  modern  period  will  assume  a  most  commanding 
position  among  the  European  nations. 

The  Arabians  were  hidden  in  their  deserts;  but  in  the  seventh 
century  we  shall  see  them,  animated  by  a  wonderful  religious 
enthusiasm,  issue  from  their  peninsula  and  begin  a  contest  with 
the  Christian  nations  which,  in  its  varying  phases,  was  destined 
to  fill  a  large  part  of  the  mediaeval  period. 

The  ]\Iongols  and  Turks  were  buried  in  central  Asia.  They 
will  appear  late  in  the  eleventh  century,  proselytes,  for  the  most 
part,  of  Mohammedanism ;  and,  as  the  religious  ardor  of  the 
Semitic  Arabians  grows  cool,  we  shall  see  the  Islam  standard  car- 
ried forward  by  these  zealous  converts  of  another  race,  and  finally, 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  we  shall  see  the  Crescent,  the  adopted 
emblem  of  the  new  religion,  placed  by  the  Ottoman  Turks  above 
the  dome  of  St.  Sophia  in  Constantinople. 

As  the  Middle  Ages  draw  to  a  close,  the  remote  nations  of 
eastern  Asia  will  gradually  come  within  our  circle  of  vision; 
and,  as  the  Modern  Age  dawns,  we  shall  catch  a  glimpse  of  new 
continents  and  strange  races  of  men  beyond  the  Atlantic. 


DIVISION  I.     THE  MIDDLE  AGES 
FIRST  PERIOD.     THE  DARK  AGES 

(From  the  Fall  of  Rome  to  the  Eleventh  Century) 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 
THE  BARBARIAN  KINGDOMS 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  break-up  of  the  Roman 
Empire  in  the  West  we  have  'already  given  some  account  of  the 
migrations  and  settlements  of  the  Teutonic  tribes.  In  the  present 
chapter  we  shall  indicate  briefly  the  political  fortunes,  for  the  two 
centuries  and  more  following  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman  govern- 
ment in  the  West,  of  the  principal  kingdoms  set  up  by  the  Teutonic 
chieftains  in  the  different  parts  of  the  old  Empire. 

358.  Kingdom  of  the  Ostrogoths  (a. d.  493-554).  Odoacer  will 
be  recalled  as  the  barbarian  chief  who  dethroned  the  last  of  the 
Western  Roman  emperors  (sect.  335).  His  rule,  which  lasted  only 
seventeen  years,  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  invasion  of  the 
Ostrogoths  (Eastern  Goths)  under  Theodoric,  the  greatest  of  their 
chiefs,  who  set  up  in  Italy  a  new  dominion  known  as  the  kingdom 
of  the  Ostrogoths. 

The  reign  of  Theodoric  covered  thirty-three  years  (a.d.  493- 
527) — years  of  such  cjuiet  and  prosperity  as  Italy  had  not  known 
since  the  happy  era  of  the  Antonines.  The  king  made  good 
his  promise  that  his  reign  should  be  such  that  "the  only  regret  of 
the  people  should  be  that  the  Goths  had  not  come  at  an  earlier 
period."  His  effort  was  to  preserve  Roman  civilization,  and  to  this 
end  he  repaired  the  old  Roman  roads,  restored  the  monuments  of 
the  Empire  that  were  falling  into  decay,  and  in  so  far  as  possible 
maintained  Roman  law  and  custom. 

250 


§359]  KINGDOM  OF  THE  VISIGOTHS  251 

The  kingdom  established  by  the  rare  abilities  of  Theodoric  lasted 
only  twentj^-seven  years  after  his  death.  Justinian,  emperor  of 
the  East,  taking  advantage  of  that  event,  sent  his  generals  to 
deliver  Italy  from  the  rule  of  the  barbarians.  The  last  of  the 
Ostrogothic  kings  fell  in  battle,  and  Italy,  with  her  fields  rav- 
aged and  her  cities  in  ruins,  was  for  a  brief  time  reunited  to 
the  Empire. 

359.  Kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  (a.d. 415-711).  The  Visigoths 
(Western  Goths)  were  already  in  possession  of  southern  Gaul  and 
the  greater  part  of  Spain  when  the  Roman  imperial  government 
in  the  West  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  act  of  Odoacer  and  his 
companions.  They  were  driven  south  of  the  Pyrenees  by  the  kings 
of  the  Franks,  but  held  their  possessions  in  Spain  until  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighth  century,  when  their  rule  was  ended  by  the 
Saracens  (sect.  397).  By  this  time  the  conquerors  had  mingled 
with  the  old  Romanized  inhabitants  of  Spain,  so  that  in  the  veins 
of  the  Spaniard  of  today  is  blended  the  blood  of  Iberian,  Celt, 
Roman,  and  Teuton,  together  with  that  of  the  last  intruder,  the 
African  Moor. 

360.  Kingdom  of  the  Vandals  (a.d.  429-533).  We  have  already 
spoken  of  the  establishment  in  North  Africa  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
Vandals,  and  told  how,  under  the  lead  of  their  king  Geiseric,  they 
bore  in  triumph  down  the  Tiber  the  heavy  spoils  of  Rome  (sect. 
334).  Being  Arian  Christians,  the  Vandals  persecuted  with  furious 
zeal  the  orthodox  party.  Moved  by  the  entreaties  of  the  African 
Catholics,  the  Byzantine  emperor  Justinian  sent  his  general  Beli- 
sarius  to  drive  the  barbarians  from  Africa.  The  expedition  was 
successful,  and  Carthage  and  the  fruitful  fields  of  Africa  were 
restored  to  the  Empire  after  having  suffered  the  insolence  of  the 
barbarian  conquerors  for  the  space  of  above  a  hundred  years. 
The  Vandals  remaining  in  the  country  were  gradually  absorbed 
by  the  old  Roman  population,  and  after  a  few  generations  no 
certain  trace  of  the  barbarian  invaders  could  be  detected  in  the 
physical  appearance,  the  language,  or  the  customs  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  African  coast.  The  Vandal  nation  had  disappeared ; 
the  name  alone  remained. 


2  52  THE  BARBARIAN  KINGDOMS  [§361 

361.  The  Franks  under  the  Merovingians'    (a.d.  486-752). 

Even  long  before  the  fall  of  Rome  the  Franks,  as  we  have  seen 
(sect.  331),  were  on  the  soil  of  Gaul,  laying  there  the  foundations 
of  the  French  nation  and  monarchy.  Among  their  several  chieftains 
at  this  time  was  Clovis.  As  the  Roman  power  declined,  Clovis 
gradually  extended  his  authority  over  a  great  part  of  Gaul,  reduc- 
ing to  the  condition  of  tributaries  the  various  Teutonic  tribes  that 
had  taken  possession  of  different  portions  of  the  country.  Upon 
his  death  (a.d.  511)  his  extensive  dominions,  in  accordance  with 
the  ancient  Teutonic  law  of  inheritance,  were  divided  among  his 
four  sons.  About  a  century  and  a  half  of  discord  followed,  by 
the  end  of  which  time  the  Merovingians  had  become  so  feeble  and 
inefficient  that  they  were  pushed  aside  by  an  ambitious  officer 
of  the  crown,  known  as  Mayor  of  the  Palace,  and  a  new  royal 
line — the  Carolingian — was  established. 

362.  Kingdom  of  the  Lombards  (a.d.  568-774).  Barely  a  dec- 
ade had  passed  after  the  recovery  of  Italy  from  the  Ostrogoths  by 
the  Eastern  emperor  Justinian,  before  a  large  part  of  the  peninsula 
was  again  lost  to  the  Empire  through  its  conquest  by  another 
barbarian  tribe  known  as  the  Lombards. 

The  kingdom  of  the  Lombards  was  destroyed  by  Charles  the 
Great,  the  most  noted  of  the  Frankish  rulers,  in  the  year  774  ;  but 
the  blood  of  the  invaders  had  by  this  time  become  intermingled 
with  that  of  the  former  subjects  of  the  Empire,  so  that  throughout 
all  that  part  of  the  peninsula  which  is  still  called  Lombardy  after 
them,  one  will  today  occasionally  see  the  fair  hair  and  light  com- 
plexion which  reveal  the  strain  of  German  blood  in  the  veins  of 
the  present  inhabitants. 

363.  The  Anglo-Saxons  in  Britain.  We  have  already  seen  how 
in  the  time  of  Rome's  distress  the  barbarians  secured  a  footing  in 
Britain  (sect.  331).  The  conquerors  of  Britain  belonged  to  three 
Teutonic  tribes, —  the  Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes, —  but  among  the 
Celts  they  all  passed  under  the  name  of  Saxons,  and  among  them- 
selves, after  they  began  to  draw  together  into  a  single  nation,  under 
that  of  Angles,  whence  the  name  England  (Angle-land). 

1  So  callc-d  from  Mcrowij;,  an  early  chieftain  of  the  race. 


§364]  TEUTONIC  TRIBES  OUTSIDE  THE  EMPIRE      253 

By  the  close  of  the  sixth  century  the  invading  bands  had  set 
up  in  the  island  eight  or  nine,  or  perhaps  more,  kingdoms,  —  fre- 
quently designated,  though  somewhat  inaccurately,  as  the  Hep- 
tarchy. For  the  space  of  two  hundred  years  there  was  an  almost 
perpetual  strife  for  supremacy  among  the  leading  states.  Finally, 
Egbert,  king  of  Wessex  (a.d.  802-839),  brought  all  the  other 
kingdoms  to  a  subject  or  tributary  condition,  and  became  in 
reality,  though  he  seems  never,  save  on  one  occasion,  to  have 
actually  assumed  the  title,  the  first  king  of  England. 

364.  Teutonic  Tribes  outside  the  Empire.  We  have  now 
spoken  of  the  most  important  of  the  Teutonic  tribes  which  forced 
themselves  within  the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West, 
and  which  there,  upon  the  ruins  of  the  civilization  they  had  over- 
thrown, laid  or  helped  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  modern  nations 
of  Italy,  Spain,  France,  and  England.  Beyond  the  boundaries  of 
the  old  Empire  were  still  other  tribes  and  clans  of  this  same  mighty 
family  of  nations — tribes  and  clans  that  were  destined  to  play 
great  parts  in  European  history. 

On  the  east,  beyond  the  Rhine,  were  the  ancestors  of  the 
modern  Germans.  Notwithstanding  the  immense  hosts  that  the 
forests  and  morasses  of  Germany  had  poured  into  the  Roman 
provinces,  the  western  portion  of  the  fatherland,  in  the  sixth  cen- 
tury of  our  era,  seemed  still  as  crowded  as  before  the  great  migra- 
tion began.  These  tribes  were  yet  barbarians  in  manners  and,  for 
the  most  part,  pagans  in  religion.  In  the  northwest  of  Europe 
were  the  Scandinavians,  the  ancestors  of  the  modern  Danes, 
Swedes,  and  Norwegians.  They  were  as  yet  untouched  either  by 
the  civilization  or  the  religion  of  Rome. 

References.  IIodgkin,  T.,  Italy  and  her  Invaders  and  Theodoric  the  Goth 
(Ilodgkiii  is  recognized  as  the  best  authority  on  the  period  of  the  migration). 
ViM.AKi,  P.,  The  Barbarian  In7uisions  of  Italy.  Gl'MMERE,  F.  H.,  Germanie 
Origins  (an  authoritative  and  interesting  work  on  the  early  culture  of  the  Ger- 
mans). GiHBON,  K.,  chaps,  xxxviii,  xxxix.  Church,  R.  \V.,  The  Beginning  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  i-v.  Emkrton,  E.,  An  Introductioti  to  the  Study  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  chaps,  vi,  vii.  The  (\unh-idge  Medieval  History,  vol.  i,  chap,  xv  ; 
vol.  ii,  chaps,  iv-vii. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS 

I.  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  BARBARIANS 

365.  Introductory.  The  most  important  event  in  the  histor\' 
of  the  tribes  that  took  possession  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the 
West  was  their  conversion  to  Christianity.  Many  of  the  bar- 
barians were  converted  before  or  soon  after  their  entrance  into  the 
Empire ;  to  this  circumstance  the  Roman  provinces  owed  their 
immunity  from  the  excessive  cruelties  which  pagan  barbarians 
seldom  fail  to  inflict  upon  a  subjected  enemy.  Alaric  left  un- 
touched the  treasures  of  the  churches  of  the  Roman  Christians 
because  his  own  faith  was  also  Christian  (sect.  329).  For  like 
reason  the  Vandal  king  Geiseric  yielded  to  the  prayers  of  Pope  Leo 
the  Great  and  promised  to  leave  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  imperial 
city  their  lives  (sect.  334).  The  more  tolerable  fate  of  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Gaul,  as  compared  with  the  hard  fate  of  Britain,  is 
owing,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  fact  that  the  tribes  which  overran 
those  countries  had  become,  in  the  main,  converts  to  Christianity 
before  they  crossed  the  boundaries  of  the  Empire,  while  the  Saxons, 
when  they  entered  Britain,  were  still  untamed  pagans. 

366.  Conversion  of  the  Franks ;  Importance  of  this  Event. 
The  Franks  when  they  entered  the  Empire,  like  the  Angles  and 
Saxons  when  they  landed  in  Britain,  were  still  pagans.  Christianity 
gained  way  very  slowly  among  them  until  a  supposed  interposition 
by  the  Christian  God  in  their  behalf  in  a  desperate  battle  led  the 
king  and  nation  to  adopt  the  new  religion  in  place  of  their 
old  faith. 

"The  conversion  of  the  Franks,"  says  the  historian  Milman, 
"was  the  most  important  event  in  its  remote  as  well  as  its 
immediate  consequences  in  European  history."     It  was  of  such 

254 


§367]        AUGUSTINE'S  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  255 

moment  for  the  reason  that  the  Franks  embraced  the  ortho- 
dox Catholic  faith,  while  almost  all  the  other  Teutonic  invaders 
of  the  Empire  had  embraced  the  heretical  Arian  creed.  This 
secured  them  the  loyalty  of  their  Roman  subjects  and  also  gained 
for  them  the  official  favor  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Thus  was  laid 
the  basis  of  the  ascendancy  in  the  West  of  the  Prankish  kings. 

367.  Augustine's  Mission  to  England.  In  the  year  596  of  the 
Christian  era  Pope  Gregory  I  sent  the  monk  Augustine  with  a 
band  of  forty  companions  to  teach  the  Christian  faith  in  Britain, 
in  whose  people  he  had  become  interested  through  seeing  in  the 
slave  market  at  Rome  some  fair-faced  captives  from  that  remote 
region. 

The  monks  were  favorably  received  by  the  English,  who  listened 
attentively  to  the  story  the  strangers  had  come  to  tell  them ;  and, 
being  persuaded  that  the  tidings  were  true,  they  burned  the  tem- 
ples of  Woden  and  Thor,  and  were  in  large  numbers  baptized  in 
the  Christian  faith.^  One  of  the  most  important  consequences  of 
the  conversion  of  Britain  was  the  reestablishment  of  that  connec- 
tion of  the  island  with  Roman  civilization  which  had  been  severed 
by  the  calamities  of  the  fifth  century.  As  the  historian  Green 
says, — he  is  speaking  of  the  embassy  of  St.  Augustine, — "The 
march  of  the  monks  as  they  chanted  their  solemn  litany  was  in  one 
sense  a  return  of  the  Roman  legions  who  withdrew  at  the  trumpet 
call  of  Alaric.  .  .  .  Practically  Augustine's  landing  renewed  that 
union  with  the  western  world  which  the  landing  of  Hengist  had 
destroyed.  The  new  England  was  admitted  into  the  older  common- 
wealth of  nations.  The  civilization,  art,  letters,  which  had  fled 
before  the  sword  of  the  English  conquerors,  returned  with  the 
Christian  faith." 

368.  The  Conversion  of  Ireland ;  lona.  The  spiritual  con- 
quest of  Ireland  was  effected  largely  by  a  zealous  priest  named 
Patricius  (d.  about  a.d.  469),  better  known  as  St.  Patrick,  the 
patron   saint    of   Ireland.     With   such   success   were    his    labors 

1  Read  the  story  in  Hede's  Eicltsinstical  Hbfoiy,  ii,  13  (Bohn).  Hede  the  \'enerable 
(about  A.D.  673-735)  was  a  pious  and  learned  Northumbrian  monk,  who  wrote,  among 
other  works,  an  invaluable  one  entitled  His/oria  Ecclesiastkix  Gcntls  Atiglortim  ("  The 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English  Nation"). 


256 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS       [§  369 


ll\-. 


-^A 


]m 


Fig. 


79.    Thk  Ruins  of  Iona.   (After  an 
old  drawing) 


attended  that  by  the  time  of  his  death  a  great  part  of  the  island 
had  embraced  the  Christian  faith.  Never  did  any  race  receive  the 
Gospel  with  more  ardent  enthusiasm.  The  Irish  or  Celtic  Church 
sent  out  its  devoted  missionaries  into  the  Pictish  highlands,  into  the 
forests  of  Germany,  and  among  the  wilds  of  Alps  and  Apennines. 
Among  the  numerous  religious  houses  founded  by  the  Celtic 
missionaries  was  the  famous  monastery  established  a.d.  563  by 
the  Irish  monk  St.  Columba,  on  the  little  isle  of  Iona,  just  off 

the  western  coast 
of  Scotland.  Iona 
became  a  most  re- 
nowned center  of 
Christian  learning 
and  missionary  zeal, 
and  for  almost  two 
centuries  was  the 
point  from  which  ra- 
diated light  through 
the  darkness  of  the 
surrounding  hea- 
thenism. 
369.  The  Conversion  of  Germany.  The  great  apostle  of  Ger- 
many was  the  Saxon  Winfrid,  better  known  as  St.  Boniface. 
During  a  long  and  intensely  active  life  he  founded  schools  and 
monasteries,  organized  churches,  preached  and  baptized,  and  at 
last  died  a  martyr's  death  (a.d.  753).  Through  him,  as  says  Mil- 
man,  the  Saxon  invasion  of  England  flowed  back  upon  the 
Continent. 

The  Christianizing  of  the  tribes  of  Germany  relieved  the  Teu- 
tonic folk  of  western  Europe  from  the  constant  peril  of  massacre 
by  their  heathen  kinsmen,  and  erected  a  strong  barrier  in  central 
Europe  against  the  advance  of  the  waves  of  Turanian  paganism 
and  iNIohammedanism  which  for  centuries  beat  so  threateningly 
against  the  eastern  frontiers  of  Germany.' 

1  The  story  of  the  conversion  of  the  Scandinavian  peoples,  of  the  HIastern  Slavs,  and 
of  the  Hungarians  belongs  to  a  later  period  than  that  embraced  by  our  present  survey. 


That  man  is  little  to  be   envied  whose  patriotism  would 

not  gain  force  upon  the  plain  of  Marathon,  or  whose  piety 

would  not  grow  warmer  among  the  ruins  of  Iona. —  Dn. 

Johnson,  A  Journey  to  the  Western  Isles  of  Scotland 


§370]  MONASTICISM  DEFINED  257 

II.  THE  RISE  OF  MONASTICISM 

370.  Monasticism  Defined;  Teachings  that  fostered  its 
Growth.  It  was  during  the  period  between  the  third  and  the  sixth 
century  that  there  grew  up  in  the  Church  the  institution  known  as 
Monasticism.  This  term,  in  its  widest  application,  denotes  a  life  of 
austere  self-denial  and  of  seclusion  from  the  world,  with  the  object 
of  promoting  the  interests  of  the  soul.  As  thus  defined,  the  system 
embraced  two  prominent  classes  of  ascetics  :  ( i )  hermits  or  ancho- 
rites— persons  who,  retiring  from  the  world,  lived  solitary  lives 
in  desolate  places;  (2)  cenobites  or  monks,  who  formed  commu- 
nities and  lived  usually  under  a  common  roof. 

Christian  asceticism  was  fostered  by  teachings  drawn  from 
various  texts  of  the  Bible.  Thus  the  apostle  St.  Paul  had  said,  "He 
that  is  unmarried  careth  for  the  things  that  belong  to  the  Lord ; 
.  .  .  but  he  that  is  married  careth  for  the  things  that  are  of  the 
world." ^  And  Christ  himself  had  declared,  "If  any  man  come  to 
me,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children, 
and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be 
my  disciple";-  and,  again,  he  had  said  to  the  rich  young  man, 
"If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to 
the  poor."'*  These  passages,  and  others  like  them,  taken  literally, 
tended  greatly  to  confirm  the  belief  of  the  ascetic  that  his  life  of 
isolation  and  poverty  and  abstinence  was  the  most  perfect  life 
and  the  surest  way  to  win  salvation. 

371.  Monasticism  in  the  West.  During  the  fourth  century  the 
anchorite  type  of  asceticism,  which  was  favored  by  the  mild 
climate  of  the  Eastern  lands  and  especially  by  that  of  Egypt, 
assumed  in  some  degree  the  monastic  form;  that  is  to  say,  the 
fame  of  this  or  that  anchorite  or  hermit  drew  about  him  a  number 
of  disciples,  whose  rude  huts  or  cells  formed  what  was  known  as 
a  laura,  the  nucleus  of  a  monastery. 

Soon  after  the  cenobite  system  had  been  established  in  the 
East  it  was  introduced  into  Europe,  and  in  an  astonishingly  short 
space  of  time  spread  throughout  all  the  Western  countries  where 

1  I  Cor.  vii.  ;j2,  5?-  -  I-uke  xiv.  26.  8  Matt.  xix.  21. 


258         THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS       [§372 

Christianity  had  gained  a  foothold.  Here  it  prevailed  to  the  almost 
total  exclusion  of  the  hermit  mode  of  life.  Monasteries  arose  on 
every  side.  The  number  that  fled  to  these  retreats  was  vastly 
augmented  by  the  disorder  and  terror  attending  the  invasion  of 
the  barbarians  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Empire  in  the  West. 

372.  The  Rule  of  St,  Benedict.  With  a  view  to  introducing 
some  sort  of  regularity  into  the  practices  and  austerities  of  the 
monks,  rules  were  early  prescribed  for  their  observance.  The  three 
essential  vows  of  the  monk  were  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience. 

The  greatest  legislator  of  the  monks  was  St.  Benedict  of  Nursia 
(a.d.  480-543),  the  founder  of  the  celebrated  monastery  of  Monte 
Cassino,  situated  midway  between  Rome  and  Naples  in  Italy.  His 
code  was  to  the  religious  world  what  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis  of 
Justinian  (sect.  346)  was  to  the  lay  society  of  Europe.  Many  of 
his  rules  were  most  wise  and  practical,  as,  for  instance,  one  that 
made  manual  work  a  pious  duty,  and  another  that  directed  the 
monk  to  spend  an  allotted  time  each  day  in  sacred  reading. 

The  monks  who  subjected  themselves  to  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict 
were  known  as  Benedictines.  The  order  became  immensely  popu- 
lar.   At  one  time  it  embraced  about  forty  thousand  abbeys. 

373.  Services  Rendered  by  the  Monks  to  Civilization.  The 
early  establishment  of  the  monastic  system  in  the  Church  resulted 
in  great  advantages  to  the  new  world  that  was  shaping  itself  out 
of  the  ruins  of  the  old.  The  monks,  especially  the  Benedictines, 
became  agriculturists,  and  by  patient  labor  converted  the  wild  and 
marshy  lands  which  they  received  as  gifts  from  princes  and  others 
into  fruitful  fields,  thus  redeeming  from  barrenness  some  of  the 
most  desolate  districts  of  Europe. 

The  monks  also  became  missionaries,  and  it  was  largely  to  their 
zeal  and  devotion  that  the  Church  owed  her  speedy  and  signal 
victory  over  the  barbarians. 

The  quiet  air  of  the  monasteries  nourished  learning  as  well  as 
piety.  The  monks  became  teachers,  and  under  the  shelter  of  the 
monasteries  established  schools  which  were  the  nurseries  of  learn- 
ing during  the  earlier  Middle  Ages  and  the  centers  for  centuries  of 
the  best  intellectual  life  of  Europe. 


§374] 


THE  EMPIRE  WITHIN  THE  EMPIRE 


259 


The  monks  also  became  copyists,  and  with  great  painstaking  and 
industry  gathered  and  multiplied  ancient  manuscripts,  and  thus 
preserved  and  transmitted  to  the  modern  world  much  classical 
learning  and  literature  that  would  otherwise  have  been  lost.  Almost 
all  the  remains  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  classics  that  we  possess 
have  come  to  us  through  the 
agency  of  the  monks.  They  be- 
came also  the  chroniclers  of  the 
events  of  their  own  times,  so 
that  it  isto  them  we  are  indebted 
for  a  great  part  of  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  early  mediaeval  cen- 
turies. Thus  the  scriptorium, 
or  writing-room  of  the  monastery, 
held  the  place  in  mediaeval  soci- 
ety that  the  great  publishing 
house  holds  in  the  modern  world. 

The  monks  became,  further,  the  almoners  of  the  pious  and  the 
wealthy,  and  distributed  alms  to  the  poor  and  needy.  Everywhere 
the  monasteries  opened  their  hospitable  doors  to  the  weary,  the 
sick,  and  the  discouraged.  In  a  word,  these  retreats  were  the  inns, 
the  asylums,  and  the  hospitals  of  the  mediaeval  ages. 


Fig.  80.  A  Monk  Copvist.  (From  a 
manuscript  of  the  fifteenth  century) 


III.  THE  RISE  OF  THE  PAPACY 

374.  The  Empire  within  the  Empire.  Long  before  the  fall  of 
Rome  there  had  begun  to  grow  up  within  the  Roman  Empire  an 
ecclesiastical  state,  which  in  its  constitution  and  its  administrative 
system  was  shaping  itself  upon  the  imperial  model.  This  spiritual 
empire,  like  the  secular  empire,  possessed  a  hierarchy  of  officers, 
of  whom  deacons,  priests  or  presbyters,  and  bishops  were  the 
most  important.  The  bishops  collectively  formed  what  is  known 
as  the  episcopate.  There  were  four  grades  of  bishops,  namely, 
country  bishops,  city  bishops,  metropolitans  (or  archbishops),  and 
patriarchs.     .\t  the  end  of  the   fourth  century   there  were  five 


26o         THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS       (§.w5 

patriarchates,  that  is,  regions  ruled  by  patriarchs.  These  centered 
in  the  great  cities  of  Rome,  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  Antioch, 
and  Jerusalem. 

Among  the  patriarchs,  the  patriarchs  of  Rome  were  accorded 
almost  universally  a  precedence  in  honor  and  dignity.  They 
claimed  further  a  precedence  in  authority  and  jurisdiction,  and 
this  was  already  very  widely  recognized.  Before  the  close  of  the 
eighth  century  there  was  firmly  established  over  a  great  part  of 
Christendom  what  we  may  call  an  ecclesiastical  monarchy. 

Besides  the  influence  of  great  men — such  as  Leo  the  Great, 
Gregory  the  Great,  and  Nicholas  I — who  held  the  seat  of  St. 
Peter,  there  were  various  historical  circumstances  that  contributed 
to  the  realization  by  the  Roman  bishops  of  their  claim  to 
supremacy.  In  the  following  sections  we  shall  enumerate  several 
of  these  favoring  circumstances.  These  matters  constitute  the 
great  landmarks  in  the  rise  and  early  growth  of  the  Papacy. 

375.  The  Belief  in  the  Primacy  of  St.  Peter  and  in  the 
Founding  by  him  of  the  Church  at  Rome.  It  came  to  be  believed 
that  the  apostle  Peter  had  been  given  by  the  Master  a  sort  of 
primacy  among  his  fellow  apostles.  It  also  came  to  be  believed 
that  Peter  himself  had  founded  the  Church  at  Rome,  and  had 
suffered  martyrdom  there  under  the  emperor  Nero.  These  beliefs 
and  interpretations  of  history,  which  make  the  Roman  bishops  the 
successors  of  Peter  and  the  holders  of  his  seat,  contributed  greatly 
to  enhance  their  reputation  and  to  justify  their  claim  to  a  primacy 
of  authority  over  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

376.  Advantages  of  their  Position  at  the  Political  Center  of 
the  World.  The  claims  of  the  Roman  bishops  were  in  the  early 
centuries  greatly  favored  by  the  spell  in  which  the  world  was  held 
by  the  name  and  prestige  of  imperial  Rome.  Thence  it  had  been 
accustomed  to  receive  commands  in  all  temporal  matters ;  how 
very  natural,  then,  that  thither  it  should  turn  for  command  and 
guidance  in  spiritual  affairs.  The  Roman  bishops  in  thus  occupy- 
ing the  geographical  and  political  center  of  the  world  enjoyed  a 
great  advantage  over  all  other  bishops  and  patriarchs.  The  halo 
that  during  many  centuries  of  wonderful  history  had  gathered 


§3771    EFFECT  OF  REMOVAL  OF  GOVERNMENT       261 

about  the  Eternal  City  came  naturally  to  invest  with  a  kind  of 
aureole  the  head  of  the  Christian  bishop. 

377.  Effect  of  the  Removal  of  the  Imperial  Government  to 
Constantinople.  Nor  was  this  advantage  that  was  given  the 
Roman  bishops  by  their  position  at  Rome  lost  when  the  old  capital 
ceased  to  be  an  imperial  city.  The  removal,  by  the  acts  of  Dio- 
cletian and  Constantine,  of  the  chief  seat  of  the  government  to 
the  East,  instead  of  diminishing  the  power  and  dignity  of  the 
Roman  bishops,  tended  greatly  to  promote  their  claims  and  au- 
thority.   It  left  the  pontiff  the  foremost  personage  in  Rome. 

378.  The  Pastor  as  Protector  of  Rome.  Again,  when  the  bar- 
barians came,  there  came  another  occasion  for  the  Roman  bishops 
to  widen  their  influence  and  enhance  their  authority.  Rome's 
extremity  was  their  opportunity.  Thus  it  will  be  recalled  how, 
mainly  through  the  intercession  of  the  pious  Pope  Leo  the  Great, 
the  fierce  Attila  was  persuaded  to  turn  back  and  spare  the  imperial 
city  (sect.  S33)j  ^^^  how  the  same  bishop,  in  the  year  455  of  the 
Christian  era,  also  appeased  in  a  measure  the  wrath  of  the  Vandal 
Geiseric  and  shielded  the  inhabitants  from  the  worst  passions  of 
a  barbarian  soldiery  (sect.  334). 

Thus,  when  the  emperors,  the  natural  defenders  of  the  capital, 
were  unable  to  protect  it,  the  unarmed  pastor  was  able,  through 
the  awe  and  reverence  inspired  by  his  holy  office,  to  render 
services  that  could  not  but  result  in  bringing  increased  honor  and 
dignity  to  the  Roman  See. 

379.  Effects  upon  the  Papacy  of  the  Extinction  of  the  Roman 
Empire  in  the  West.  But  if  the  misfortunes  of  the  Empire  in  the 
West  tended  to  the  enhancement  of  the  reputation  and  iniluence  of 
the  Roman  bishops,  much  more  did  its  final  downfall  tend  to  the 
same  end.  Upon  the  surrender  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  West 
into  the  hands  of  the  emperor  of  the  East,  the  bishops  of  Rome 
became  the  most  important  personages  in  western  Europe,  and, 
being  so  far  removed  from  the  court  at  Constantinople,  gradually 
assumed  almost  imperial  powers.  To  them  were  referred  for  de- 
cision the  disputes  arising  between  cities,  states,  and  kings.  Espe- 
cially did  the  bishops  and  archbishops  throughout  the  West  in 


262         THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS       [§  380 

their  contests  with  the  Arian  barbarian  rulers  look  to  Rome  for 
advice  and  help.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  greatly  these  things  tended 
to  strengthen  the  authority  and  increase  the  influence  of  the 
Roman  bishops. 

380.  The  Missions  of  Rome.  Again,  the  early  missionary  zeal 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  made  her  the  mother  of  many  churches, 
all  of  whom  looked  up  to  her  with  affectionate  and  grateful 
loyalty.  Thus  the  Angles  and  Saxons,  won  to  the  faith  by  the 
missionaries  of  Rome,  conceived  a  deep  veneration  for  the  Holy 
See  and  became  its  most  devoted  children.  To  Rome  it  was  that 
the  Christian  Britons  made  their  most  frequent  pilgrimages,  and 
thither  they  sent  their  offering  of  St.  Peter's  pence.  And  when 
the  Saxons  became  missionaries  to  their  pagan  kinsmen  of  the 
Continent,  they  transplanted  into  the  heart  of  Germany  these  same 
feelings  of  filial  attachment  and  lo\e. 

381.  Result  of  the  Fall  of  Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Alex- 
andria before  the  Saracens.  In  the  seventh  century  all  the  great 
cities  of  the  East  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mohammedans.'  This 
was  a  matter  of  tremendous  consequence  for  the  Church  of  Rome, 
since  in  every  one  of  these  great  capitals  there  was,  or  might  have 
been,  a  rival  of  the  Roman  bishop.  The  virtual  erasure  of  Antioch, 
Jerusalem,  and  Alexandria  from  the  map  of  Christendom  left  only 
one  city,  Constantinople,  that  could  possibly  nourish  a  rival  of 
the  Roman  Church.  Thus  did  the  very  misfortunes  of  Christendom 
give  an  added  security  to  the  ever-increasing  authority  of  the 
Roman  prelate. 

382.  The  Popes  become  Temporal  Sovereigns.  A  dispute 
about  the  use  of  images  in  worship,  known  in  church  history  as 
the  "War  of  the  Iconoclasts,"^  which  broke  out  in  the  eighth  cen- 
tury between  the  Greek  churches  of  the  East  and  the  Latin 
churches  of  the  West,  drew  after  it  far-reaching  consequences  as 
respects  the  growing  power  of  the  Roman  pontiffs.  Leo  the 
Isaurian,  who  came  to  the  throne  of  Constantinople  a.d.  716,  was 
a  most  zealous  iconoclast.  The  Greek  churches  of  the  East  having 
been  cleared  of  images,  the  emperor  resolved  to  clear  also  the 

1  Sec  Chapter  .\  I..  -  Iconochist  means  "  image  breaker." 


§382]  PAPACY  GAINS  TEMPORAL  POWER  263 

Latin  churches  of  the  West  of  these  ''symbols  of  idolatry."  To 
this  end  he  issued  a  decree  that  they  should  not  be  used.  The 
bishop  of  Rome,  Pope  Gregory  II,  not  only  opposed  the  execution 
of  the  edict,  but  by  the  ban  of  excommunication  cut  off  the  em- 
peror and  all  the  iconoclastic  churches  of  the  East  from  com- 
munion with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Though  images — 
paintings  and  mosaics  only — were  permanently  restored  in  the 
Eastern  churches  in  842,  still  by  this  time  other  causes  of  alien- 
ation had  arisen,  and  the  breach  between  the  two  sections  of 
Christendom  could  not  now  be  closed.  The  final  outcome  was 
the  permanent  separation,  in  the  last  half  of  the  eleventh  centur\', 
of  the  Church  of  the  East  from  that  of  the  West. 

In  this  quarrel  with  the  Eastern  emperors  the  Roman  bishops 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  Prankish  princes  of  the  Carolingian 
house.  Never  did  allies  render  themselves  more  serviceable  to  each 
other.  The  popes  consecrated  the  authority  and  enhanced  the 
power  and  prestige  of  the  Prankish  rulers ;  these  in  turn  defended 
the  popes  against  all  their  enemies,  imperial  and  barbarian,  and, 
dowering  them  with  cities  and  provinces,  laid  the  basis  of  their 
temporal  power. 

Such  in  broad  outline  was  the  way  in  which  grew  up  the 
Papacy,  an  institution  which,  far  beyond  all  others,  was  destined 
to  mold  the  fortunes  and  direct  the  activities  of  Western  Christen- 
dom throughout  the  mediaeval  time. 

References.  Zimmer,  H.,  The  Irish  Eiemendn  Mcdicrz>al  Culture  (an  author- 
itative and  interesting  account  of  the  services  rendered  mediaeval  civilization 
by  the  Irish  monks).  Kingslev,  C,  The  Hermits.  Montalembert  (Count  de), 
The  Monks  of  the  West  from  Saint  Benedict  to  Saint  Berna?-d,  7  vols,  (an  ardent 
eulogy  of  monasticism).  "Wishart,  A.  \V..  A  Shoii  Histoiy  of  Monks  arid  Mon- 
asteries (the  best  short  account  in  English).  Emerton,  E.,  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  Middle  Ages,  chap  ix,  "  The  Rise  of  the  Christian  Church." 
Adams,  G.  R.,  Civilization  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap,  vi,  "  The  Formation 
of  the  Papacy."  Cardinal  Gibijons,  The  Faith  of  our  Fathers,  chap,  ix,  "  The 
Primacy  of  Peter,"  and  chap,  x,  "  The  Supremacy  of  the  Popes  "  (an  authori- 
tative statement  of  the  Catholic  view  of  these  matters). 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
THE  FUSION  OF  LATIN  AND  TEUTON 

383.  Introductory,  The  conversion  of  the  barbarians  and  the 
development  in  Western  Christendom  of  the  central  authority  of 
the  Papacy  prepared  the  way  for  the  introduction  among  the 
northern  races  of  the  arts  and  the  culture  of  Rome,  and  hastened 
in  Italy,  Spain,  and  Gaul  the  fusion  into  a  single  people  of  the 
Latins  and  the  Teutons,  of  which  important  matter  we  shall  treat 
in  the  present  chapter.  We  shall  tell  how  these  two  races,  upon  the 
soil  of  the  old  Empire  in  the  West,  intermingled  their  blood,  their 
languages,  their  laws,  their  usages  and  customs,  to  form  new 
peoples,  new  tongues,  and  new  institutions. 

384.  The  Romance  Nations.  In  some  districts  the  barbarian 
invaders  and  the  Roman  provincials  were  kept  apart  for  a  long 
time  by  the  bitter  antagonism  of  race,  and  by  a  sense  of  injury 
on  the  one  hand  and  a  feeling  of  disdainful  superiority  on  the 
other.  But  for  the  most  part  the  Teutonic  intruders  and  the 
Latin-speaking  inhabitants  of  Italy,  Spain,  and  France  very  soon 
began  freely  to  mingle  their  blood  by  family  alliances. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  say  what  proportion  the  Teutons  bore 
to  the  Romans.  Of  course  the  proportion  varied  in  the  different 
countries.  In  none  of  the  countries  named,  however,  was  it  large 
enough  to  absorb  the  Latinized  population;  on  the  contrary,  the 
barbarians  were  themselves  absorbed,  yet  not  without  essentially 
changing  the  body  into  which  they  were  incorporated.  Thus, 
about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  everything  in  Italy, 
Spain,  and  France-^dwellings,  cities,  dress,  customs,  language, 
laws,  soldiers — reminds  us  of  Rome.  A  little  later  and  a  great 
change  has  taken  place.  The  barbarians  have  come  in.  For 
a  time  we  see  everywhere,  jostling  each  other  in  the  streets 
and   markets,  crowding  each   other   in   the   theaters  and   courts, 

264 


§  3S5]  THE  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  265 

kneeling  together  in  the  churches,  the  former  Romanized  subjects 
of  the  Empire  and  their  uncouth  Teutonic  conquerors.  But  by  the 
close  of  the  ninth  century,  to  speak  in  very  general  terms,  the 
two  elements  have  become  quite  intimately  blended,  and  a  cen- 
tury or  two  later  Roman  and  Teuton  have  alike  disappeared,  and 
we  are  introduced  to  Italians,  Spaniards,  and  Frenchmen.  These 
we  call  Romance  peoples,  because  at  base  they  are  Roman. 

385.  The  Formation  of  the  Romance  Languages.  During  the 
five  centuries  of  their  subjection  to  Rome,  the  natives  of  Spain 
and  Gaul  forgot  their  barbarous  dialects  and  came  to  speak  a  cor- 
rupt Latin.  Now,  in  exactly  the  same  way  that  the  dialects  of 
the  Celtic  tribes  of  Gaul  and  of  the  Celtiberians  of  Spain  had 
given  way  to  the  more  refined  speech  of  the  Romans,  did  the 
rude  languages  of  the  Teutons  yield  to  the  more  cultured  speech 
of  the  Roman  provincials.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  centu- 
ries after  their  entrance  into  the  Empire,  Goths,  Lombards, 
Burgundians,  and  Franks  had  practically  dropped  their  own  tongue 
and  were  using  that  of  the  people  they  had  subjected. 

But  of  course  this  provincial  Latin  underwent  a  great  change 
upon  the  lips  of  the  mixed  descendants  of  the  Romans  and  Teu- 
tons. Owing  to  the  absence  of  a  common  popular  literature,  the 
changes  that  took  place  in  one  country  did  not  exactly  correspond 
to  those  going  on  in  another.  Hence,  in  the  course  of  time,  we 
find  different  dialects  springing  up,  and  by  about  the  ninth  century 
the  Latin  has  virtually  disappeared  as  a  spoken  language,  and  its 
place  been  usurped  by  what  will  be  known  as  the  Italian,  Spanish, 
and  French  languages — all  more  or  less  resembling  the  ancient 
Latin,  and  all  called  Romance  tongues,  because  children  of  the 
old  Roman  speech. 

386.  Ordeals.  The  agencies  relied  upon  by  the  Teutons  to 
ascertain  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  accused  persons  show  in  how 
rude  a  state  the  administration  of  justice  among  them  was.  One 
very  common  method  of  proof  was  by  what  were  called  ordeals, 
in  which  the  question  was  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  God. 
Of  these  the  chief  were  the  ordeal  by  fire,  the  ordeal  by  water, 
and  the  ivager  of  battle. 


266 


TFIE  FUSION  OF  LATIN  AND  TEUTON       [§  386 


The  ordeal  by  fire  consisted  in  taking  in  the  hand  a  piece  of  red- 
hot  iron,  or  in  walking  blindfolded  with  bare  feet  over  a  row  of  hot 
ploughshares  laid  lengthwise  at  irregular  distances.  If  the  person 
escaped  unharmed,  he  was  held  to  be  innocent.  Another  way  of 
performing  the  fire  ordeal  was  by  running  through  the  flame  of 
two  fires  built  close  together,  or  by  walking  over  live  brands. 

The  ordeal  by  water 
was  of  two  kinds,  by 
hot  water  and  by  cold. 
In  the  hot-water  or- 
deal the  accused  per- 
son thrust  his  arm 
into  boiling  water,  and 
if  no  hurt  was  visible 
upon  the  arm  three 
days  after  the  oper- 
ation, the  party  was 
considered  guiltless. 
In  the  cold-water  trial 
the  suspected  person 
was  thrown  into  a 
stream  or  pond  ;  if  he 
floated,  he  was  held 
to  be  guilty;  if  he 
sank,  innocent. 

The  wager  of  battle 
or  trial  by  combat  was 
a  solemn  judicial  duel.  It  was  resorted  to  in  the  belief  that  God 
would  give  victory  to  the  right.  Naturally  it  was  a  favorite  mode 
of  trial  among  a  people  who  found  their  chief  delight  in  fighting. 
Even  religious  disputes  were  sometimes  settled  in  this  way.' 

1  Ordeals  are  found  among  all  primitive  peoples.  For  proof  by  ordeal  among  the 
Hebrews,  see  Num.  v.  ii-v  and  Josh.  vii.  i6-i8.  The  combat  between  David  and 
Cioliath,  being  an  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  Heaven,  possesses  the  essential  clement  of 
the  judicial  duel.  We  also  find  an  ordeal  in  the  test  proposed  by  Klijah  to  the  prophets 
of  Baal, —  I  Kings  xviii.  17-40.  It  was  the  same  among  the  Greeks.  Thus,  for  instance, 
in  Sophocles'  A»tii;onc  the  watchman  is  made  to  say,  "  Prepared  we  were  to  take  up  red- 
hot  iron,  to  walk  through  fire." 


Fig.  81.    Trial  v,\  Co.mi'.at.    (From  a  manu- 
script of  the  fifteenth  century ;   after  Lacroix) 


§387]  REVIVAL  OF  THE  ROMAN  LAW  267 

The  ordeal  was  frequently  performed  by  deputy,  that  is,  one 
person  for  hire  or  for  the  sake  of  friendship  would  undertake  it 
for  another ;  hence  the  expression  "  to  go  through  fire  and  water 
to  serve  one."  Especially  was  such  substitution  common  in  the 
judicial  duel,  since  women  and  ecclesiastics  were  generally  for- 
bidden to  appear  personally  in  the  lists. 

387.  The  Revival  of  the  Roman  Law.  Now  the  barbarian 
law  system,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  the  character  of  which  we 
have  merely  suggested  by  the  preceding  illustrations,  gradually 
displaced  the  Roman  law  in  all  those  countries  where  the  two  sys- 
tems at  first  existed  alongside  each  other,  save  in  Italy  and  in 
southern  France,  where  the  provincials  greatly  outnumbered  the 
invaders.  But  the  admirable  jurisprudence  of  Rome  was  eventu- 
ally to  assert  its  superiority.  About  the  close  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury there  was  a  great  revival  in  the  study  of  the  Roman  law  as 
embodied  in  the  Justinian  code,  and  in  the  course  of  a  century 
or  two  this  became  either  the  groundwork  or  a  strong  modifying 
element  in  the  law  systems  of  almost  all  the  peoples  of  Europe. 

What  took  place  may  be  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  fate 
of  the  Teutonic  languages  in  Gaul,  Italy,  and  Spain.  As  the 
barbarian  tongues,  after  maintaining  a  place  in  those  countries 
for  tv^'o  or  three  centuries,  at  length  gave  place  to  the  superior 
Latin,  which  became  the  basis  of  the  new  Romance  languages, 
so  now  in  the  domain  of  law  the  barbarian  maxims  and  customs, 
though  holding  their  place  longer,  likewise  finally  give  way  almost 
everywhere,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  the  more  excellent  law 
system  of  the  Empire.  Rome  must  fulfill  her  destiny  and  give 
laws  to  the  nations. 

References.  Emerton,  E.,  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Aq-es,  chap,  viii,  "  Ger- 
manic Ideas  of  Law."  Lea,  IL  C,  Sitperstition  and  Force :  Essays  on  the  Wager 
of  La-w,  the  IVager  of  Battle,  the  Ordeal  and  Torture.  MuNRO,  I).  C,  and 
Ski.lery,  G.  C,  Medi(n<al  Civilization,  pp.  310-325.  For  the  spread  of  the 
Latin  speech  and  the  formation  of  the  Romance  languages,  see  .Xbbott,  F.  R., 
The  Common  People  of  Ancient  Rome,  pp.  3-31.  For  the  contribution  made  by 
the  Germans  to  civiHzation,  see  Adams,  G.  B.,  Civilization  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  chap.  v.  For  the  influence  of  the  Roman  law  upon  the  law  systems  of 
Europe,  see  liadley,  J.,  Introduction  to  Roman  Laio,  lect.  ii. 


CHArXER  XXXIX 
THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  IN  THE  EAST 

388.  The  Era  of  Justinian  (a.d.  527-565).  During  the  fifty 
years  immediately  following  the  fall  of  Rome,  the  Eastern  em- 
perors struggled  hard  and  sometimes  doubtfully  to  withstand  the 
waves  of  the  barbarian  inundation  which  constantly  threatened  to 
overwhelm  Constantinople  with  the  same  awful  calamities  that 
had  befallen  the  imperial  city  of  the  West.  Had  the  New  Rome — 
the  destined  refuge  for  a  thousand  years  of  Graico-Roman  learning 
and  culture — also  gone  down  at  this  time  before  the  storm,  the 
loss  to  the  cause  of  civilization  would  have  been  incalculable. 

Fortunately,  in  the  year  527,  there  ascended  the  Eastern  throne 
a  prince  of  unusual  ability,  to  whom  fortune  gave  a  general  of 
such  rare  genius  that  his  name  has  been  allotted  a  place  in 
the  short  list  of  the  great  commanders  of  the  world.  Justinian 
was  the  name  of  the  prince,  and  Belisarius  that  of  the  soldier. 
The  sovereign  has  given  name  to  the  period,  which  is  called  after 
him  the  "  Era  of  Justinian." 

389.  Justinian  as  the  Restorer  of  the  Empire  and  "The  Law- 
giver of  Civilization."  One  of  the  most  important  matters  in  the 
reign  of  Justinian  is  what  is  termed  the  "  Imperial  Restoration," 
by  which  is  meant  the  recovery  from  the  barbarians  of  several  of 
the  provinces  of  the  West  upon  which  they  had  seized.  Africa, 
as  we  have  seen  (sect.  360),  was  first  wrested  from  the  Vandals. 
Italy  was  next  recovered  from  the  Goths  and  again  made  a  part 
of  the  Roman  Empire  (a.d.  553).  It  was  governed  from  Ravenna 
by  an  imperial  officer  who  bore  the  title  of  Exarch.  Besides  re- 
covering Africa  and  Italy  from  the  barbarians,  Justinian  also 
reconquered  from  the  \'isigoths  the  southeastern  part  of  Spain. 

But  that  which  gives  Justinian's  reign  a  greater  distinction  than 
any  conferred  upon  it  by  the  achievements  of  his  generals  was 

268 


§  390] 


THE  EMPIRE  BECOMES  GREEK 


269 


the  collection  and  publication  by  him  of  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis, 
the  "Body  of  the  Roman  Law."  This  work  embodied  all  the  law 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  Romans,  and  was  the  most  precious 
legacy  of  Rome  to  the  world.  In  causing  its  publication  Justin- 
ian earned  the  title  of  "The  Lawgiver  of  Civilization." 

Justinian  also  earned  renown  as  one  of  the  world's  greatest 
builders.    He  rebuilt  with  increased  splendor  the  Church  of  Santa 


Imperial  Possessions  at  Opening  of  KeigB 
l j  Lands  reconquered  from  the  Barbarian 


The  Roman  Empjre  under  Justinian 


Sophia,  which,  founded  by  Constantine  the  Great,  had  been 
burned  during  a  riot  in  his  reign.  The  structure  still  stands, 
though  the  cross  which  originally  surmounted  the  dome  was  in 
1453  replaced  by  the  Moslem  crescent.  In  its  interior  decorations 
this  edifice  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  creations  of 
Christian  art. 

390.  The  Empire  becomes  Greek.  Less  than  a  generation  after 
the  death  of  Justinian,  the  Arabs,  of  whom  we  shall  tell  in  the 
following  chapter,  entered  upon  their  surprising  career  of  conquest, 
which  in  a  short  time  completely  changed  the  face  of  the  entire 
East.  The  conquests  of  the  Arabs  cut  off  from  the  Empire  those 
provinces  that  had  the  smallest  Greek  element,  and  thus  rendered 
the  population  subject  to  the  Emperor  more  homogeneous,  more 
thoroughly  Greek.  The  Roman  element  disappeared,  and  though 
the  government  still   retained   the   imperial   character   impressed 


2  70  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  IN  THE  EAST  [§391 

upon  it  by  the  conquerors  of  the  world,  the  court  of  Constantinople 
became  Greek  in  tone,  spirit,  and  manners.  Hence,  instead  of 
longer  applying  to  the  Empire  the  designation  Roman,  many  his- 
torians from  this  on  call  it  the  Greek  or  Byzantine  Empire. 

391,  Services  rendered  European  Civilization  by  the  Roman 
Empire  in  the  East.  The  later  Roman  Empire  rendered  such 
eminent  services  to  the  European  world  that  it  justly  deserves  an 
important  place  in  universal  history.  First,  as  a  military  outpost 
it  held  the  Eastern  frontier  of  European  civilization  for  a  thousand 
years  against  Asiatic  barbarism. 

Second,  it  was  the  keeper  for  centuries  of  the  treasures  of 
ancient  civilization  and  the  instructor  of  the  new  Western 
nations  in  law,  in  government  and  administration,  in  literature, 
in  painting,  in  architecture,  and  in  the  industrial  arts.* 

Third,  it  kept  alive  the  imperial  ideal,  and  gave  this  fruitful 
idea  and  this  molding  principle  back  to  the  West  in  the  time  of 
Charlemagne.  Without  the  later  Roman  Empire  of  the  East  there 
would  never  have  been  a  Romano-German  Empire  of  the  West 
(sect.  403). 

Fourth,  it  was  the  teacher  of  religion  and  civilization  to  the 
Slavic  races  of  eastern  Europe.  Russia  forms  part  of  the  civilized 
world  today  largely  by  virtue  of  what  she  received  from  New 
Rome. 

References.  GimtON,  E.,  Decline  and  Fall,  chaps,  xl-xliv  (on  the  reign  of 
Justinian  ;  chap,  xliv  deals  with  Roman  law).  Oman,  C.  W.  C,  The  Stoiy  of 
the  Byzantine  Empire,  chaps,  iv-viii ;  and  The  Dark  Ages,  chaps,  v,  vi.  IIoDG- 
KiN,  T.,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  vol.  iv,  "The  Imperial  Restoration."  Encyc. 
Brit.,  nth  ed.,  Art.  "Justinian  I,"  by  James  Hryce.  Bury,  J.  B.,  History  of  the 
Later  Roman  Empire,  2  vols,  (a  work  of  superior  scholarship).  Harrison,  F., 
Byzantine  History  in  the  Early  Middle  Ages  (a  brilliant  lecture).  IVie  Cambridge 
Medieral  History,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  i,  ii.  SiacNoltos,  (".,  Histoiy  of  A/edurral  and 
Modern  Civilization,  chap.  iii. 

'  This  instruction  was  imparted  largely  through  the  mediation  of  the  Italian  cities, 
and  particularly  of  Venice,  which  throughout  almost  all  the  medixval  time  were  in  close 
political  or  commercial  relations  with  Constantinople. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM 

We  have  seen  the  Teutonic  barbarians  of  the  North  descend  upon 
the  Roman  Empire  and  wrest  from  it  all  its  provinces  in  the  West. 
We  are  now  to  watch  a  similar  attack  made  upon  the  Empire  by 
the  Arabs  of  the  South,  and  to  see  wrested  from  the  emperors  of 
the  East  a  large  part  of  the  lands  still  remaining  under  their  rule. 

392.  The  Religious  Condition  of  Arabia  before  Mohammed. 
Before  the  reforms  of  Mohammed  the  Arabs  were  idolaters.  Their 
holy  city  was  Mecca.  Here  was  the  ancient  and  revered  shrine  of 
the  Kaaba,  where  was  preserved  a  sacred  black  stone  that  was 
believed  to  have  been  given  by  an  angel  to  Abraham.  To  this 
shrine  pilgrimages  were  made  from  the  most  remote  parts  of  Arabia. 

But  though  polytheism  was  the  prevailing  religion  of  Arabia, 
still  there  were  in  the  land  many  followers  of  other  faiths.  The 
Jews  especially  were  to  be  found  in  some  parts  of  the  peninsula  in 
great  numbers.  Through  them  the  Arab  teachers  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  doctrine  of  one  sole  God.  From  the  Christian 
converts  dwelling  among  them  they  had  learned  something  of  the 
teachings  of  Christianity.  It  was  from  the  Jews  and  Christians, 
doubtless,  that  Mohammed  learned  many  of  the  doctrines  that 
he  taught. 

393.  Mohammed.  Mohammed,  the  great  prophet  of  the  Arabs, 
was  born  in  the  holy  city  of  Mecca,  probably  in  the  year  570  of 
the  Christian  era.  In  his  early  years  he  was  a  shepherd  and  a 
watcher  of  flocks  by  night,  as  the  great  religious  teachers  Moses 
and  David  had  been  before  him.  Later  he  became  a  merchant 
and  a  camel  driver. 

Mohammed  possessed  a  soul  that  was  early  and  deeply  stirred 
by  the  contemplation  of  (hose  themes  that  ever  attract  the  religious 
mind.    He  declared  that  he  had  visions  in  which  the  angel  Gabriel 

271 


2  72  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  [§394 

appeared  to  him  and  made  to  him  revelations  which  he  was  com- 
manded to  make  known  to  his  fellow  men.  The  essence  of  the  new 
faith  which  he  was  to  teach  was  this :  There  is  but  one  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  prophet. 

For  a  considerable  time  after  having  received  this  commission, 
Mohammed  endeavored  to  gain  adherents  merely  by  persuasion  ;  but 
such  was  the  incredulity  which  he  everywhere  met,  that  at  the  end 
of  three  years'  preaching  his  disciples  numbered  only  forty  persons. 

394.  The  Hegira  (a.d.  622).  The  teachings  of  Mohammed  at 
last  aroused  the  anger  of  a  powerful  party  among  the  guardians  of 
the  national  idols  of  the  Kaaba,  and  they  began  to  persecute 
Mohammed  and  his  followers.  To  escape  these  persecutions  Mo- 
hammed fled  to  the  neighboring  city  of  Medina.  This  Hegira,  or 
"flight,"  as  the  word  signifies,  occurred  a.d.  622,  and  was  con- 
sidered by  the  Moslems  as  such  an  important  event  in  the  history 
of  their  religion  that  they  adopted  it  as  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era,  and  from  it  still  continue  to  reckon  historical  dates. 

His  cause  being  warmly  espoused  by  the  inhabitants  of  Medina, 
Mohammed  now  assumed  along  with  the  character  of  a  lawgiver 
and  moral  teacher  that  of  a  warrior.  He  declared  it  to  be  the  will 
of  God  that  the  new  faith  should  be  spread  by  the  sword.  Within 
ten  years  from  the  time  of  the  assumption  of  the  sword  by 
Mohammed,  Mecca  had  been  conquered  and  the  new  creed  estab- 
lished widely  among  the  independent  tribes  of  Arabia. 

395.  The  Koran  and  its  Teachings.  The  doctrines  of  Moham- 
medanism, or  Islam,  which  means  "submission  to  God,"  are  con- 
tained in  the  Koran,  which  is  believed  by  the  orthodox  to  have 
been  written  from  all  eternity  on  tablets  in  heaven.  From  time 
to  time  Mohammed  recited  to  his  disciples  portions  of  the 
"heavenly  book"  as  its  contents  were  revealed  to  him  in  his 
dreams  and  visions.  These  communications  were  held  in  the 
"breasts  of  men,"  or  were  written  down  upon  potsherds  and  the 
ribs  of  palm  leaves.  Soon  after  the  death  of  the  prophet  these 
scraps  of  writing  were  religiously  collected,  supplemented  by  tradi- 
tion, and  then  arranged  chiefly  according  to  length.  Such  was 
the  origin  of  the  sacred  book  of  Islam. 


§396]  CONQUESTS  IN  ASIA  AND  NORTH  AFRICA      273 

The  fundamental  doctrine  of  Islam  is  the  unity  of  God:  "There 
is  no  God  save  Allah"  echoes  throughout  the  Koran.  To  this  is 
added  the  equally  binding  declaration  that  "Mohammed  is  the 
prophet  of  Allah." 

The  Koran  inculcates  the  practice  of  four  cardinal  duties.  The 
first  is  prayer ;  five  times  every  day  must  the  believer  turn  his 
face  toward  Mecca  and  engage  in  devotion.  The  second  require- 
ment is  almsgiving,  or  payment  of  the  so-called  holy  tax.  The 
third  is  keeping  the  fast  of  Ramadan,  which  lasts  a  whole  month, 
throughout  which  period  no  food  must  be  eaten  during  the  day. 
The  fourth  duty  is  making  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  Every  person 
who  can  possibly  do  so  is  required  to  make  this  journey. 

396.  The  Conquest  of  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt,  and  North 
Africa.  For  exactly  one  century  after  the  death  of  Mohammed 
the  caliphs  or  successors  of  the  prophet  ^  were  engaged  in  an  almost 
unbroken  series  of  conquests.  Persia  was  subjugated  and  the 
authority  of  the  Koran  was  established  throughout  the  land  of 
the  ancient  fireworshipers.  Syria  was  wrested  from  the  Eastern 
Roman  Empire  and  Asia  Minor  was  overrun.  Egypt  and  North 
Africa,  the  latter  just  recently  delivered  from  the  Vandals,  were 
also  snatched  from  the  hands  of  the  Byzantine  emperors. 

By  the  conquest  of  Syria  the  birthplace  of  Christianity  was  lost 
to  the  Christian  world.  By  the  conquest  of  North  Africa,  lands 
whose  history  for  a  thousand  years  had  been  intertwined  with  that 
of  the  opposite  shores  of  Europe,  and  which  at  one  time  seemed 
destined  to  share  in  the  career  of  freedom  and  progress  opening 
to  the  peoples  of  that  continent,  were  drawn  back  into  the  fatalism 
and  the  stagnation  of  the  East.  From  being  an  extension  of 
Europe  they  became  once  more  an  extension  of  Asia. 

397.  The  Invasion  of  Europe  ;  the  Battle  of  Tours  (a.d.  732). 
Thus,  in  only  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  from  the  death  of 
Mohammed  his  standard  had  been  carried  by  the  lieutenants  of  his 
successors  through  Asia  to  the  Hellespont  on  the  one  side  and 

1  Abu-Bekr  (a.d.  632-634),  Mohammed's  father-in  law,  was  the  first  cahph.  He  was 
followed  by  Omnr  (a.d.  634-644),  Othman  (a.d.  644-655),  and  AH  (a.d.  655-661),  all  of 
wliom  fell  by  the  hands  of  assassins.  Ali  was  the  last  of  the  so  called  orthodox  caliphs. 


2  74  THE  RISP:  OF  ISLAM  [§398 

across  Africa  to  Spain  on  the  other.  At  each  of  these  points 
Europe  was  threatened  with  invasion.  As  Draper  pictures  it, 
the  Crescent,  lying  in  a  vast  semicircle  upon  the  northern  shore 
of  Africa  and  the  curving  coast  of  Asia,  with  one  horn  touching 
the  Bosphorus  and  the  other  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  seemed  about 
to  round  to  the  full  and  overspread  all  Europe. 

The  first  attempt  at  invasion  of  the  continent  was  made  in 
the  East,  where  the  Arabs  vainly  endeavored  to  gain  control  of 
the  Bosphorus  by  wresting  Constantinople  from  the  hands  of  the 
Eastern  emperors.  Repulsed  from  Europe  at  its  eastern  extremity, 
they  succeeded  in  gaining  a  foothold  in  Spain.  Roderic,  the  last 
of  the  Visigothic  kings,  was  hopelessly  defeated  in  battle,  and  all 
the  peninsula,  save  some  mountainous  regions  in  the  northwest, 
quickly  submitted  to  the  invaders.  By  this  conquest  some  of  the 
fairest  provinces  of  Spain  were  lost  to  Christendom  for  a  period 
of  eight  hundred  years. 

A  few  years  after  the  conquest  of  Spain  the  Saracens  crossed  the 
Pyrenees  and,  established  themselves  in  Gaul.  This  advance  of 
the  Moslems  beyond  the  northern  wall  of  Spain  was  viewed  with 
the  greatest  alarm  by  all  Christendom.  In  the  year  732  of  the 
Christian  era,  just  one  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  the  prophet, 
the  Franks,  under  their  leader  Charles  Martel,  and  their  allies  met 
the  invaders  upon  the  plains  of  Tours  in  central  Gaul  and  com- 
mitted to  the  issue  of  a  single  battle  the  fate  of  Christendom  and 
the  future  course  of  history.  The  Arabs  suffered  an  overwhelming 
defeat  and  soon  withdrew  behind  the  Pyrenees. 

The  young  Christian  civilization  of  western  Europe  was  thus 
delivered  from  an  appalling  danger  such  as  had  not  threatened 
it  since  the  fearful  days  of  Attihi  and  the  Huns  (sect.  332). 

398.  Golden  Age  of  the  Arabian  Caliphate.  At  first  the 
caliphs  ruled  from  the  city  of  Medina;  then  for  almost  a  hundred 
years  (a.d.  661-750)  they  issued  their  commands  from  the  city 
of  Damascus;  later  they  established  their  court  on  the  Lower 
Tigris  at  Bagdad, —  the  representative  of  the  ancient  Babylon, — 
which  city  for  a  period  of  more  than  five  hundred  years  was  a 
brilliant  center  of  Arabian  civilization. 


•^                   ^V\\l         ^--^alS^BJ-^STAN^Jf^W 

V 

'a^ 



\ 

-— 

,-^te 

^ 

M^^^ 

^ 

-"^ 

\ 

V 

Jy 

'Tf- 

i^/  \^  \v. 

JU 

K^ 

■C 

\ 

\ 

^tr^ 

x^^  \.,..--'----'\% 

\  w 

T^ 

V 

a 

..---'^ 

TJ^ 

^&i 

^ 

\ 

e 

s 

jfi^y 

5^^^?^W^vyt  Tw 

\ 

1    pi 



jpvA 

&" — \~ 

CT'^  ^y^    /^^               «M          "^^/-^l 



-4 — 

■ — ' 

Tw 

1  r'T^ 

\       "v 

^Ao^  '     /  "t  -)'*'*°  ^^-T"^^^?^  /T" 

\ 

>- 

r<^/ 

\          J^ 

\__-— rv   mT^'^S^^  j5"<^v.J/   \ 

•s 

<^' 

/T       •*! 

Y\ 

^T3:^i\^|^^ 

^ 

K 

p 

nr 

H^^^5jt> 

3 

■A 

'A 

f 

r 

a 

/" 

\  ^       '^     -S\ 

¥7% 

r 

\ 

,o 

— -y 

^m 

'  H 

bT 

so 

6'  w,"'      S~ 

^ 

■«■ 

^ 

^ 

^-— l^^Sfei 

i 

~^ 

PVlMJi'Tl 

- — 

s- 

V 

_4;^^___oj«^j^  jo  Y 

_, 

1"7 

1     /\^         1    l^~^^~ 

"" 





1/ 

---J^i?lj^L;V     e_^    >         /L 

» 

'g 

/  /v 

^\lM~j^y~^s^Mr^(--~~_^  \ 

tf 

§1 

tski^v 

\Lyzix4  L  M/s^  1  '^f^^i 

■ 

-~L 

J 

M 

" 

ik^T'$^^lzl 

r 

e 

S3z 

7 

t 

1 

f 

i 

< 

a 

e 

•s 

3 
■3  3 

/  i 

/    / 

J        t^~^^-^?^*4'^^<^*W                                                / 

-~-tU 

1 

o- 

s^/  « 

/*y^f%^^MM^              1 

7^ 

_/ 

H 

/  5 

/"^^ 

^^^V"^^ 

/ 

J 

^ 

~~~4^ 

§399]       DISMEMBERMENT  OF  THE  CALIPHATE         275 

The  golden  age  of  the  caHphate  of  Bagdad  covered  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighth  and  the  ninth  century  of  our  era,  and  was  illus- 
trated by  the  reigns  of  such  princes  as  Al-Mansur  (a.d.  754-775) 
and  the  renowned  Harun-al-Rashid  (a.d.  786-809).  During 
this  period  science  and  philosophy  and  literature  were  most 
assiduously  cultivated  by  the  Arabian  scholars,  and  the  court  of 
the  caliphs  presented  in  culture  and  luxury  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  rude  and  barbarous  courts  of  the  kings  and  princes  of 
Western  Christendom. 

399.  The  Dismemberment  of  the  Caliphate.  "At  the  close  of 
the  first  century  of  the  Hegira,"  writes  Gibbon,  "  the  caliphs  were 
the  most  potent  and  absolute  monarchs  of  the  globe."  But  in  a 
short  time  the  extended  empire,  through  the  quarrels  of  sectaries 
and  the  ambitions  of  rival  aspirants  for  the  honors  of  the  caliphate, 
was  broken  in  fragments,  and  from  three  capitals — from  Bagdad 
upon  the  Tigris,  from  Cairo  upon  the  Nile,  and  from  Cordova  upon 
the  Guadalquivir — were  issued  the  commands  of  three  rival 
caliphs,  each  of  whom  was  regarded  by  his  adherents  as  the  sole 
rightful  spiritual  and  civil  successor  of  Mohammed.  All,  however, 
held  the  great  prophet  in  the  same  reverence,  all  maintained  with 
equal  zeal  the  sacred  character  of  the  Koran,  and  all  prayed  with 
their  faces  turned  toward  the  holy  city  of  Mecca. 

400.  The  Civilization  of  Arabian  Islam.  The  Saracens  were 
co-heirs  of  antiquity  with  the  Teutonic  peoples.  They  made  espe- 
cially their  own  the  scientific  accumulations  of  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tions and  bequeathed  them  to  Christian  Europe.  From  the  Greeks 
and  the  Hindus  they  received  the  germs  of  astronomy,  geometry, 
medicine,  and  other  sciences.  The  scientific  writings  of  Aristotle, 
Euclid,  and  Galen,  and  Hindu  treatises  on  astronomy  and  algebra 
were  translated  from  the  Greek  and  Sanskrit  into  Arabic,  and 
formed  the  basis  of  the  Arabian  studies  and  investigations.  Almost 
all  of  the  sciences  that  thus  came  into  their  hands  were  enriched  by 
them,  and  then  transmitted  to  European  scholars.^    They  devised 

1  What  Europe  received  in  science  from  Arabian  sources  is  Iccpt  in  remembrance  by 
such  words  as  alchemy,  alcohol,  alembic,  alt^ebra,  alkali,  almanac,  azimuth,  chemistry, 
elixir,  zenith,  and  nadir.  To  how  great  an  extent  the  chief  Arabian  cities  became  the  man- 
ufacturing centers  of  thp  mediaeval  world  is  indicated  by  the  names  which  these  places 


2  76  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  [§400 

what  is  known  from  them  as  the  Arabic  or  decimal  system  of  no- 
tation/ and  gave  to  Europe  this  indispensable  instrument  of  all 
scientific  investigations  dependent  upon  mathematical  calculations. 

In  the  lighter  forms  of  literature — romance  and  poetry — ^the 
Arabs  produced  much  that  possesses  a  high  degree  of  excellence. 
The  inimitable  tales  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  besides  being  a  valuable 
commentary  on  Arabian  life  and  manners  at  the  time  of  the  cul- 
mination of  oriental  culture  at  the  court  of  Bagdad,  form  also  an 
addition  to  the  imperishable  portion  of  the  literature  of  the  world. 

All  this  literary  and  scientific  activity  found  expression  in  the 
establishment  of  schools  and  libraries.  In  all  the  great  cities  of 
the  Arabian  empire,  as  at  Bagdad,  Cairo,  and  Cordova,  centuries 
before  Europe  could  boast  anything  beyond  cathedral  or  monastic 
schools,  great  universities  were  drawing  together  vast  crowds  of 
eager  young  Moslems  and  creating  an  atmosphere  of  learning 
and  refinement. 

In  the  erection  of  mosques  and  other  public  edifices  the  Arab 
architects  developed  a  new  and  striking  style  of  architecture, — 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  which  is  preserved  to  us  in 
the  palace  of  the  Moorish  kings  at  Granada, — a  style  which  has 
given  to  modern  builders  some  of  their  finest  models. 

References.  The  Koran  is  our  chief  source  for  a  knowledge  of  Islam  as 
a  religion.  The  translation  by  Palmer  is  the  best.  Muir,  \V.,  T//e  Life  of 
Mohammed  and  The  Rise  atid  Decline  of  Islam  (these  works  are  written  in  an 
unfriendly  and  unsympathetic  spirit).  Smith,  R.  B.,  Mohammed  ami  Moham- 
medanism (has  a  short  bibliography).  Sprenger,  A.,  The  Life  of  Mohammed. 
Irvin(;,  W.,  Mahomet  and  his  Successors.  GiBBUN,  E.,  The  Decline  and  Fall, 
chaps.  1-lii.  Margoliouth,  D.  S.,  Mohammed  and  the  Rise  of  Islam.  Frf.k- 
MAN,  E.  A.,  //istoty  and  Conquests  of  the  Saracens  (a  rapid  sketch  by  a  master). 
Syed  Ameer  Ali,  The  Spirit  of  Islam  and  Short  History  of  the  Saracens. 
Poot.E,  vS.  L.,  Studies  in  a  Mosque.  Encyc.  Brit.,  \  i  th  ed.,  Arts.  "  Mahomet,"  "  Ma- 
hommedan  Institutions,"  "  Mahommedan  Law,"  "'  Mahommedan  Religion." 
The  Cambridge  .'ILediez'al  History,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  x-xii. 

have  given  to  various  textile  fabrics  and  other  articles.  Thus ;«;«//«  comes  from  Mosul,  on 
and  Tigris,  damask  from  Damascus,  and  gauze  from  OaEa.  Damascus  and  Toledo  blades 
tell  of  the  proficiency  of  the  Arab  workmen  in  metallurgy. 

1  The  figures  or  numerals,  with  the  exception  of  the  zero  symbol,  employed  in  their 
system,  they  seem  to  have  borrowed  from  India. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

CHARLEMAGNE  AND  THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 
IN  THE  WEST 

401.  Introductory.  We  return  now  to  the  West.  The  Franks, 
who  with  the  aid  of  their  confederates  withstood  the  Saracens  on 
the  field  of  Tours  and  saved  Europe  from  subjection  to  the  Koran, 
are  the  people  that  first  attract  our  attention.  Charlemagne,  or 
Charles  the  Great,  their  king,  second  of  the  Carolingian  line 
(sect.  361),  is  the  imposing  figure  that  moves  amidst  all  the  events 
of  the  times, —  indeed,  is  the  one  who  makes  the  events  and  renders 
the  period  an  epoch  in  universal  history. 

402.  The  Wars  of  Charlemagne.  During  his  long  reign  of 
nearly  half  a  century  Charlemagne  so  extended  the  boundaries  of 
his  dominions  that  they  came  to  embrace  the  larger  part  of  western 
Europe.  He  made  over  fifty  military  campaigns,  among  which 
were  those  against  the  Lombards,  the  Saracens,  and  the  Saxons. 

Among  the  first  undertakings  of  Charlemagne  was  a  campaign 
against  the  Lombards  in  Italy,  whose  king,  Desiderius,  was 
troubling  the  Pope.  Charlemagne  wrested  from  Desiderius  all 
his  possessions,  shut  up  the  unfortunate  king  in  a  monastery,  and 
placed  on  his  own  head  the  famous  "Iron  Crown "^  of  the 
Lombards. 

In  the  year  778  Charlemagne  gathered  his  warriors  for  a  crusade 
against  the  Mohammedan  Moors  in  Spain.  He  crossed  the  Pyrenees 
and  succeeded  in  winning  from  the  Moslems  all  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  peninsula.  These  lands  thus  regained  for  Christendom 
he  made  a  part  of  his  dominions,  under  the  title  of  the  Spanish 
March.^ 

1  So  called  because  there  was  wrought  into  it  what  was  believed  to  be  one  of  the 
nails  of  the  cross  upon  which  Christ  had  suffered. 

-  As  Charles  was  leading  his  victorious  bands  back  across  the  Pyrenees,  the  rear  of 
his  army,  while  hemmed  in  by  the  walls  of  the  Pass  of  Koncevalles,  was  set  upon  by  the 

277 


2  78  CHARLEMAGNE  [§403 

But  by  far  the  greater  number  of  the  campaigns  of  Charlemagne 
were  directed  against  the  still  pagan  Saxons.  These  people  were 
finally  reduced  to  permanent  submission  and  forced  to  accept 
Charlemagne  as  their  sovereign  and  Christianity  as  their  religion. 

403.  Restoration  of  the  Empire  in  the  West  (a.d.  soo).  An 
event  of  seemingly  little  moment,  yet  in  its  influence  upon  suc- 
ceeding affairs  of  the  very  greatest  importance,  now  claims  our 
attention.  Pope  Leo  III  having  called  upon  Charlemagne  for  aid 
against  a  hostile  faction  at  Rome,  the  king  soon  appeared  in 
person  at  the  capital  and  punished  the  disturbers  of  the  peace  of 
the  Church.  The  gratitude  of  Leo  led  him  at  this  time  to  make 
a  most  signal  return  for  the  many  services  of  the  Prankish  king. 
To  understand  his  act  a  word  of  explanation  is  needed. 

For  a  considerable  time  a  variety  of  circumstances  had  been 
fostering  a  growing  feeling  of  enmity  between  the  Italians  and 
the  emperors  at  Constantinople.  Just  at  this  time,  by  the  crime 
of  the  Empress  Irene,  who  had  deposed  her  son,  Constantine  VI, 
and  put  out  his  eyes  that  she  might  have  his  place,  the  Byzantine 
throne  was  vacant,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Italians,  who  con- 
tended that  the  crown  of  the  Caesars  could  not  be  worn  by  a 
woman.  In  view  of  these  circumstances  Pope  Leo  and  those 
about  him  conceived  the  purpose  of  taking  away  from  the  hereti- 
cal and  effeminate  Greeks  the  imperial  crown  and  bestowing  it 
upon  some  strong  and  orthodox  and  worthy  prince  in  the  West. 

Now,  among  all  the  Teutonic  chiefs  of  Western  Christendom 
there  was  none  who  could  dispute  in  claims  to  the  honor  with  the 
king  of  the  Franks,  the  representative  of  a  most  illustrious  house 
and  the  strongest  champion  of  the  young  Christianity  of  the  West 
against  her  pagan  foes.  Accordingly,  as  Charlemagne  was  par- 
ticipating in  the  solemnities  of  Christmas  Day  in  the  basilica  of 
St.  Peter  at  Rome,  the  Pope  approached  the  kneeling  king,  and 
placing  a  crown  of  gold  upon  his  head  proclaimed  him  Emperor 
and  Augustus  (a.d.  800). 

wild  mount.-iinccTS  (the  d.-iscons)  and  cut  to  pieces  before  he  could  p,\ve  relief.  Of  the 
details  of  this  event  no  authentic  account  has  been  preserved  :  but  lonf^  afterwards,  asso- 
ciated with  the  fabulous  deeds  of  the  hero  Roland,  it  formed  a  favorite  theme  of  the 
tales  and  songs  of  the  Trouveurs  of  northern  France  (sect.  509). 


§404]  CHARLES  THE  GREAT  AS  A  RULER  279 

The  intention  of  Pope  Leo  was,  by  a  sort  of  reversal  of  the  act 
of  Constantine  the  Great,  to  bring  back  from  the  East  the  seat  of 
the  imperial  court ;  but  what  he  really  accomplished  was  a  restora- 
tion of  the  line  of  emperors  in  the  West,  which  three  hundred  and 
twenty-four  years  before  had  been  ended  by  Odoacer  (sect.  335). 

We  say  this  was  what  he  actually  effected ;  for  the  Greeks  of 
the  East,  disregarding  wholly  what  the  Roman  people  and  the 
Pope  had  done,  maintained  their  line  of  emperors  just  as  though 
nothing  had  occurred  in  Italy.  So  now  from  this  time  on  for  cen- 
turies there  were,  most  of  the  time,  two  emperors,  one  in  the  East 
and  another  in  the  West,  each  claiming  to  be  the  rightful  successor 
of  Caesar  Augustus. 

This  revival  of  the  Empire  in  the  West  was  one  of  the  most 
important  matters  in  European  history.  It  gave  to  the  following 
centuries  "a  great  political  ideal,"  which  was  the  counterpart  of 
the  religious  ideal  of  a  universal  Church  embodied  in  the  Papacy. 
and  which  was  to  shape  large  sections  of  mediseval  history, 

404.  Charles  the  Great  as  a  Ruler.  Charlemagne  must  not  be 
regarded  as  a  warrior  merely.  His  most  noteworthy  work  was 
that  which  he  effected  as  a  legislator  and  administrator.  He  ruled 
his  Empire  with  the  constant  solicitude  of  a  father.  The  char- 
acter of  his  government  is  revealed  by  his  celebrated  Capitularies. 
These  were  not  laws  proper,  but  collections  of  decrees,  decisions, 
and  instructions  covering  matters  of  every  kind,  civil  and  religious, 
public  and  domestic.  They  show  what  were  Charlemagne's  ideas 
of  what  his  chiefs  or  his  subjects  needed  in  the  way  of  advice, 
suggestion,  or  command. 

Charlemagne,  particularly  after  his  coronation  as  Emperor,  exer- 
cised as  careful  a  superintendence  over  religious  as  over  civil 
affairs.  He  called  synods  or  councils  of  the  clerg\'  of  his  domin- 
ions, presided  at  these  meetings,  and  addressed  to  abbots  and 
bishops  fatherly  words  of  admonition,  reproof,  and  exhortation. 

Education  was  also  a  matter  to  which  Charlemagne  gave  zealous 
attention.  He  was  himself  from  first  to  last  as  diligent  a  student 
as  his  busy  life  permitted.  He  never  ceased  to  be  a  learner.  In 
his  old  aue  he  tried  to  learn  to  write  l)Ut   found  that   it  was  too 


2  8o  CHARLEMAGNE  [U05 

late.  Distressed  by  the  dense  ignorance  all  about  him,  he  labored 
to  instruct  his  subjects,  lay  and  clerical,  by  the  establishment  of 
schools  and  the  multiplication  and  dissemination  of  books  through 
the  agency  of  the  copyists  of  the  monasteries.  He  invited  from 
England  the  celebrated  Alcuin,  one  of  the  finest  scholars  of  the 
age,  and  with  his  help  organized  what  became  known  as  the  Palace 
School,  in  which  his  children  and  courtiers  and  he  himself  were 
pupils. 

405.  The  Death  of  Charlemagne  (  8i4  ) ;  Results  of  his  Reign. 
Charlemagne  enjoyed  the  imperial  dignity  only  fourteen  years.  He 
died  in  814.  By  the  almost  universal  verdict  of  students  of  the 
mediaeval  period,  he  has  been  pronounced  the  most  imposing  per- 
sonage that  appears  between  the  fall  of  Rome  and  the  fifteenth 
century.  His  greatness  has  erected  an  enduring  monument  for  itself 
in  his  name,  the  one  by  which  he  is  best  known, —  Charlemagne. 

Among  the  results  of  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  we  should  note 
at  least  the  two  following.  First,  he  did  for  Germany  what  Ca?sar 
did  for  Gaul, —  brought  this  barbarian  land  within  the  pale  of 
civilization  and  made  it  a  part  of  the  new-forming  Romano- 
German  world. 

Second,-  he  kneaded  into  something  like  a  homogeneous  mass 
the  various  racial  elements  composing  the  mixed  society  of  the 
wide  regions  over  which  he  ruled.  Throughout  his  long  and  vigor- 
ous reign  that  fusion  of  Roman  and  Teuton  of  which  we  spoke  in 
an  earlier  chapter  went  on  apace.  He  failed  indeed  to  unite  the 
various  races  of  his  extended  dominions  in  a  permanent  political 
union,  but  he  did  much  to  create  among  them  those  religious,  intel- 
lectual, and  social  bonds  which  were  never  afterwards  severed. 
From  his  time  on,  as  it  has  been  concisely  expressed,  there  was 
a  Western  Christendom. 

406.  Division  of  the  Empire ;  the  Treaty  of  Verdun  (843). 
Charlemagne  was  followed  by  his  son  Lewis,  surnamed  the  Pious 
(814-840).  Upon  the  death  of  Lewis  fierce  contention  broke  out 
among  his  surviving  sons,  Lewis,  Charles,  and  Lothair,  and  myriads 
of  lives  were  sacrificed  in  the  unnatural  strife.  Finally,  by  the 
famous  Treaty  of  Verdun,  the  Empire  was  divided  as  follows :  to 


§406]  THE  TREATY  OF  VERDUN  281 

Lewis  was  given  the  part  east  of  the  Rhine,  the  nucleus  of  the 
later  Germany ;  to  Charles,  the  part  west  of  the  Rhone  and  the 
Meuse,  one  day  to  become  France ;  and  to  Lothair,  the  narrow 
central  strip  between  these,  stretching  across  Europe  from  the 
North  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  including  the  rich  lands  of 
the  lower  Rhine,  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  and  the  larger  part  of 
Italy.    To  Lothair  also  was  given  the  imperial  title. 

This  treaty  is  celebrated,  not  only  because  it  was  the  first  great 
treaty  among  the  European  states,  but  also  on  account  of  its 
marking  the  divergence  from  one  another,  and  in  some  sense  the 
origin,  of  two  of  the  great  nations  of  modern  Europe, — Teutonic 
Germany  and  Romanic  France.  As  shown  by  the  celebrated 
bilingual  oath  of  Strassburg,^  there  had  by  this  time  grown  up 
in  Gaul,  through  the  mixture  of  the  provincial  Latin  with  Ger- 
man elements,  a  new  speech,  which  was  to  grow  into  the  French 
tongue, — the  firstborn  of  the  Romance  languages. 

In  the  year  962  a  strong  king  of  Germany,  Otto  the  Great,  again 
revived  the  Empire  (for  a  generation  no  one  had  borne  the 
imperial  title),  which  now  came  to  be  called  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire.  Respecting  the  great  part  that  the  idea  of  the  Empire 
played  in  subsequent  history  we  shall  speak  in  a  later  chapter 
(Chapter  XLV). 

References.  Eoinhard  (Einhard),  IJ/e  of  the  Empero7-  Karl  the  Great  (trans- 
lation by  William  Glaister  recommended).  Einhard  was  Charles'  confidential 
friend  and  secretary.  IIodckin,  T.,  Charles  the  Great,  and  Momhert,  J.  I., 
///story  of  Charles  the  Great  (the  first  is  the  best  short  biography  in  I'^nglish). 
BKVrF,,  J.,  The  Holy  /!omaii  F.rn/>ire,  chaps,  iv,  v  (gives  a  clear  view  of  the 
import  of  the  restoration  of  the  P^mpire).  Emerton,  E.,  /ntroduction  to  the 
A/iJJle  Ages,  chaps,  xii-xiv.  ^YES^,  A.  F.,  Alciiin  and  the  Rise  of  the  Christian 
Schools,  and  Mi'LLINCer,  J.  B.,  The  Schools  of  Charles  the  Great.  Ao.am.s,  G.  B., 
Ci'.'ilizatioti  diiritig  the  A/iddle  Ages,  chap.  vii.  The  Cambridge  A/edieral  //istory, 
vol.  ii,  chaps,  xviii,  xix,  xxi.    Davis,  II.  W.  C,  Charlemagne. 

'  This  was  an  oath  of  friendship  and  mutual  fidelity  taken  by  Lewis  and  Charles 
just  before  the  Treaty  of  Verdun  (in  S42).  The  text  of  the  oath  has  been  preserved 
both  in  the  old  Cerman  speech  and  in  the  new-forming  Romance  language.  It  is 
interesting  as  affording  the  oldest  existing  specimens  of  these  languages. 


CHAPTER  XLII 
THE  NORTHMEN:  THE  COMING  OF  THE  VIKINGS 

407.  The  Northern  Folk.  Northmen,  Norsemen,  Scandina- 
vians are  different  names  applied  in  a  general  way  to  the  early 
inhabitants  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  For  the  reason 
that  those  making  settlements  in  England  came  for  the  most  part 


Fk;.  83.   A  Viking  Sair 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  Northmen  to  bury  their  dead  sea-king  near  the  sea  in  his  ship 
and  over  the  spot  to  raise  a  great  mound  of  earth.  'J'he  boat  shown  in  the  cut  was  found 
in  iSSo  in  a  burial  mound  at  (iokstad,  South  Norway.  Its  length  is  78  feet.  I'"rom  the 
mode  of  sepulture  it  is  inferred  thai  the  mound  was  raised  between  a.d.  700  and  1000 

from  Denmark,  the  term  Danes  is  often  used  with  the  same  wide 
application  by  the  English  writers.  These  people  formed  the 
northern  branch  of  the  Teutonic  family. 

For  the  first  eight  centuries  of  our  era  the  Norsemen  are  prac- 
tically hidden  from  our  view  in  their  remote  Northern  home ;  but 
towards  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  their  black  piratical  crafts 
are  to  be  seen  creeping  along  the  coasts  of  Britain,  Ireland,  and 
(iaul,  and  even  venturing  far  up  the  inlets  and  creeks.  Soon  all 
the  shores  of  the  countries  visited  were  dotted  with  their  stations 
and  settlements.  With  a  foothold  once  secured,  fresh  bands  came 
from  the  Northern  peninsulas,  and  the  stations  in  time  grew  into 

28  2 


§408] 


ICELAND  AND  GREENLAND 


283 


permanent  colonies.    These  marauding  expeditions  and  colonizing 
enterprises  did  not  cease  till  late  in  the  eleventh  century. 

The  most  noteworthy  characteristic  of  these  Northmen  is  the 
readiness  with  which  they  laid  aside  their  own  manners,  habits, 
ideas,  and  institutions,  and  adopted  those  of  the  country  in  which 
they  established  themselves.  "  In  Russia  they  became  Russians  ;  in 
France,  Frenchmen  ;  in  Italy,  Italians  ;  in  England,  Englishmen." 

408.  Colonization  of  Iceland  and  Greenland ;  the  Discovery 
of  America.  Iceland  was  settled  by  the  Northmen  in  the  ninth 
century;^  about 
a  century  later 
Greenland  was 
discovered  and 
settled  by  them. 
As  early  as  the 
opening  of  the 
eleventh  centu- 
ry, America  was 
reached  by  their 
ships;  the"Vin- 
land"  of  their 
traditions  prob- 
ably was  some 
part  of  the  New 

England  coast.    Whether  these  first  visitors  to  the  continent  ever 
made  any  settlements  in  the  new  land  is  a  disputed  question. 

409.  The  Norsemen  in  Russia.  While  the  Norwegians  were 
sailing  boldly  out  into  the  Atlantic  and  taking  possession  of  the 
isles  and  coasts  of  the  western  seas,  the  Swedes  were  pushing  their 
crafts  across  the  Baltic  and  troubling  the  Finns  and  Slavs  on  the 

1  Iceland  became  the  literary  center  of  the  Scandinavian  world.  There  grew  up  here 
a  class  of  scalds,  or  bards,  who,  before  the  introduction  of  writing,  preserved  and  trans- 
mitted orally  the  sagas,  or  legends,  of  the  Northern  mces.  About  the  middle  of  the 
thirteenth  century  these  poems  and  legends  were  gathered  into  collections  known 
as  the  Rider  or  Poetic  F.diia  and  the  Youtii;er  or  Prose  F.dda.  These  are  among  the 
most  interesting  and  important  of  the  literary  memorials  that  we  possess  of  the  early 
Teutonic  peoples.  They  reflect  faithfully  the  beliefs  and  customs  of  the  Norsemen,  and 
the  wild,  adventurous  spirit  of  their  scakings. 


I)is(()Vi;kiks  ok  thic  Nortii.mkn 


284  THE  COMING  OF  THE  VIKINGS  [§410 

eastern  shore  of  that  sea.  Either  by  right  of  conquest  or  through 
the  invitation  of  the  contentious  Slavonic  clans,  the  renowned 
Scandinavian  chieftain  Ruric  accjuired,  about  the  middle  of  the 
ninth  century,  kingly  dignity,  and  became  the  founder  of  the 
first  royal  line  of  Russia. 

410.  The  Danish  Conquest  of  England.  The  Danes  began  to 
make  descents  upon  the  English  coast  toward  the  close  of  the 
eighth  century.  They  were  not  content  with  plunder,  but,  being 
pagans,  took  special  delight  in  burning  the  churches  and  monas- 
teries of  the  now  Christian  Anglo-Saxons,  or  English,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  call  them.  In  a  short  time  fully  one  half  of  England 
was  in  their  hands.  Just  when  it  began  to  look  as  though  the 
hard-pushed  English  would  be  wholly  enslaved  or  driven  from  the 
island  by  the  heathen  intruders,  Alfred  (871-901),  later  to  be 
known  as  Alfred  the  Great,'  came  to  the  throne  of  Wessex.  He 
finally  gained  some  advantage  over  the  Danes,  but  could  not 
expel  them  from  the  island,  and  by  the  celebrated  Treaty  of 
Wedmore  (878)  gave  up  to  them  all  the  northeastern  part 
of  England. 

For  a  full  century  following  the  death  of  Alfred  his  successors 
were  engaged  in  a  constant  struggle  to  hold  in  restraint  the  Danes 
already  settled  in  the  land,  or  to  protect  their  domains  from  fresh 
invasions.  In  the  end  the  Danes  got  the  mastery,  and  Canute, 
king  of  Denmark,  became  king  of  England  (1016).  For  eighteen 
>'ears  he  reigned  in  a  wise  and  parental  way.  Altogether  the  Danes 
ruled  in  England  about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  then  the  old 
English  line  was  restored  in  the  person  of.  Edward  the  Confessor 
(1042). 

1  Alfred  is  the  only  sovereign  of  Kngland  on  whom  the  title  of  Great  has  been  con- 
ferred. Perhaps  his  best  claims  to  this  distinction  spring  from  his  work  as  a  lawgiver 
and  a  patron  of  learning.  The  code  that  he  made  formed  the  basis  of  early  English 
jurisprudence.  Alfred  also  fostered  learning  by  himself  becoming  a  translator.  Mere  we 
have  the  beginnings  of  the  prose  literature  of  England.  "  The  mighty  roll  of  the 
prose  books  that  fill  her  libraries,"  writes  (Ireen,  "begins  with  the  translations  of  Alfred, 
and  above  all  with  the  Chronicle  of  his  reign."  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  here  alluded 
to  was  a  minute  and  chronological  record  of  events,  probably  begun  in  systcmatk  form 
in  Alfred's  reign  and  continued  down  to  the  year  1154.  It  was  kept  by  the  monks  of 
different  monasteries,  and  forms  one  of  our  most  valuable  sources  for  early  English  history. 


§411]  THE  NORTHMEN  IN  GAUL  285 

411.  Settlement  of  the  Northmen  in  Gaul.  The  Northmen 
began  to  make  piratical  descents  upon  the  coasts  of  Gaul  before 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Charlemagne.  The  great  king  had  been 
dead  only  thirty  years  when  these  sea  rovers  ascended  the  Seine 
and  sacked  Paris  (845).  At  last  the  Carolingian  king,  Charles 
the  Simple,  did  something  very  like  what  Alfred  the  Great  had 
done  across  the  Channel  only  a  short  time  before.  He  granted 
to  Rollo,  the  leader  of  the  Northmen  who  had  settled  at  Rouen, 
a  large  section  of  country  in  the  north  of  Gaul,  upon  condition  of 
homage  and  conversion  (912).  In  a  short  time  the  newcomers  had 
adopted  the  language,  the  manners,  and  the  religion  of  the  French, 
and  had  caught  much  of  their  vivacity  and  impulsiveness,  without, 
however,  any  loss  of  their  own  native  virtues.  This  transformation 
in  them  we  may  conceive  as  being  recorded  in  their  transformed 
name, — Northmen  becoming  softened  into  Norman. 

412.  Normandy  in  French  History.  The  establishment  of  a 
Scandinavian  settlement  in  Gaul  proved  a  momentous  matter,  not 
only  for  the  history  of  the  French  people,  but  for  the  history  of 
European  civilization  as  well.  This  Norse  factor  was  destined  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  those  various  racial  elements 
which  on  the  soil  of  the  old  Gaul  blended  to  create  the  richly 
dowered  French  nation.  For  many  of  the  most  romantic  passages 
of  her  history  France  is  indebted  to  the  adventurous  spirit  of  Ihc 
descendants  of  these  wild  rovers  of  the  sea.  The  knights  of  Nor- 
mandy lent  an  added  splendor  to  French  knighthood,  and  helped 
greatly  to  make  France  the  hearth  of  chivalry  and  the  center  of 
the  crusading  movement  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries. 
Nor  was  the  influence  of  the  incoming  of  the  Scandinav^ian  race 
felt  upon  French  history  alone.  Normandy  became  the  point  of 
departure  of  enterprises  that  had  deep  and  lasting  consequences 
for  Europe  at  large  (see  Chapter  XLIV). 

References.  Keary,  C.P'.,  The  Vikings  in  IVesteru  Christeudom.  Fault,  R., 
The  Life  of  Alfred  the  Great  (the  best  life  of  the  great  king).  Green,  J.  R.,  The 
Conquest  of  England \  all  excepting  chaps,  x  and  xi.  Du  Chaii.lu,  P.  B.,  The 
J'iking  Age,  2  vols,  (reflects  the  life  and  ideals,  customs  and  manners  of  the 
Norsemen).    Macfahyen,  \).,  Alfred  the  J! est  Saxon. 


SECOND  PERIOD.    THE  AGE  OF  REVIVAL 

(From  the  Opening  of  the  Eleventh  Century  to  the  Discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus  in  1492) 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

FEUDALISM  AND  CHIVALRY 

I.  FEUDALISM 

413.  Feudalism  defined.  Feudalism  is  the  name  given  to  a 
special  form  of  society  and  government,  based  upon  a  peculiar 
tenure  of  land,  which  prevailed  in  Europe  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  attaining,  however,  its  most  perfect  develop- 
ment in  the  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth  centuries. 

A  feudal  estate,  which  might  embrace  a  few  acres  or  an  entire 
country,  was  called  a  ficj,  or  jcud,  whence  the  term  Feudalism. 
The  person  granting  a  fief  was  called  the  suzerain,  liege,  or  lord ; 
the  one  receiving  it,  his  vassal,  liegeman,  or  retainer. 

414.  The  Ideal  System.  The  few  definitions  given  above  will 
render  intelligible  the  following  explanation  of  the  theory  of  the 
feudal  system.  In  theory  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  were  vassals 
of  the  Emperor,  who  according  to  good  imperialists  was  God's 
vassal,  and  according  to  good  churchmen,  the  Pope's.  The  kings 
received  their  dominions  as  fiefs  to  be  held  on  conditions  of  loy- 
alty to  their  suzerain  and  of  fealty  to  right  and  justice.  Should 
a  king  become  disloyal,  or  rule  unjustly  or  wickedly,  through  such 
misconduct  he  forfeited  his  fief,  and  it  might  be  taken  from  him 
by  his  suzerain  and  given  to  another  worthier  liegeman. 

In  the  same  way  as  the  king  received  his  fief  from  the  Emperor, 
so  might  he  grant  it  out  in  parcels  to  his  chief  men,  they,  in  return 
for  it,  promising,  in  general,  to  be  faithful  to  him  as  their  lord, 
and  to  serve  and  aid  him.    In  like  manner  these  immediate  vassals 

286 


§415]  CEREMONY  OF  HOMAGE  287 

of  the  king  or  suzerain  might  parcel  out  their  domains  in  smaller 
tracts  to  others,  on  conditions  similar  to  those  upon  which  they 
had  themselves  received  theirs ;  and  so  on  down  through  any 
number  of  stages. 

We  have  thus  far  dealt  only  with  the  soil  of  a  country.  We 
must  next  notice  what  disposition  was  made  of  the  people  under 
this  system.  The  king  on  receiving  his  fief  was  intrusted  with 
sovereignty  over  all  persons  living  upon  it;  he  became  their 
commander,  their  lawmaker,  and  their  judge.  Then,  when  he 
parceled  out  his  fief  among  his  great  men,  he  invested  them,  within 
the  limits  of  the  fiefs  granted,  with  all  his  own  sovereign  rights. 
Each  vassal  became  a  virtual  sovereign  in  his  own  domain.  And 
when  these  great  vassals  subdivided  their  fiefs  and  granted  por- 
tions of  them  to  others,  they  in  turn  invested  their  vassals  with 
more  or  less  of  those  powers  of  sovereignty  with  which  they 
themselves  had  been  clothed.' 

To  illustrate  the  workings  of  the  system,  we  will  suppose  the 
king  or  suzerain  to  be  in  need  of  an  army.  He  calls  upon  his  own 
immediate  vassals  for  aid;  these  in  turn  call  upon  their  vassals; 
and  so  the  order  runs  down  through  the  various  ranks  of  retain- 
ers. The  retainers  in  the  lowest  rank  rally  around  their  respective 
lords,  who,  with  their  bands,  gather  about  their  lords,  and  so  on 
up  through  the  rising  tiers  of  the  system,  until  the  immediate 
vassals  of  the  suzerain,  or  chief  lord,  present  themselves  before 
him  with  their  graduated  trains  of  followers.  The  array  consti- 
tutes a  feudal  army, — a  splendidly  organized  body  in  theory,  but 
in  fact  an  extremely  poor  instrument  for  warfare. 

Such  was  the  ideal  feudal  state.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
ideal  was  never  perfectly  realized.  The  system  simply  made  more 
or  less  distant  approaches  to  it  in  several  European  countries. 

415.  The  Ceremony  of  Homage.  A  fief  was  conferred  by  a 
very  solemn  and  peculiar  ceremony  called  homage.  The  person 
about  to  become  a  vassal,  kneeling  with  uncovered  head,  placed 

1  The  holders  of  small  fiefs  were  not  allowed  to  exercise  the  more  important  func- 
tions of  sovereignty.  Thus,  of  the  estimated  number  of  7o,coo  fief  holders  in  France  in 
the  tenth  century,  only  between  loo  and  200  possessed  the  right  "to  coin  money,  levy 
taxes,  make  laws,  and  administer  their  own  justice." 


2  88  FEUDALISM  AND  CHIVALRY  [§416 

his  hands  in  those  of  his  future  lord  and  solemnly  vowed  to  be 
henceforth  his  man^  and  to  serve  him  faithfully  even  with  his  life. 
This  part  of  the  procedure,  sealed  with  a  kiss,  was  what  properly 
constituted  the  ceremony  of  homage.  It  was  accompanied  by  an 
oath  of  fealty,  and  the  whole  was  concluded  by  the  act  of  investi- 
ture, whereby  the  lord  put  his  vassal  in  actual  possession  of  the 
land  or,  by  placing  in  his  hand  a  clod  of  earth  or  a  twig,  symbol- 
ized the  delivery  to  him  of  the  estate  for  which  he  had  just  now 
done  homage  and  sworn  fealty. 

416.  The  Relations  of  Lord  and  Vassal.  In  general  terms  the 
duty  of  the  vassal  was  service;  that  of  the  lord,  protection.  The 
most  honorable  service  required  of  the  vassal,  and  the  one  most 
willingly  rendered  in  a  martial  age,  was  military  aid.  The  liege- 
man must  always  be  ready  to  follow  his  lord  upon  his  military  ex- 
peditions; but  the  time  of  service  for  one  year  was  usually  not  more 
than  forty  days.  He  must  defend  his  lord  in  battle;  if  he  should 
be  unhorsed,  must  give  him  his  own  animal ;  and  if  he  should 
be  made  a  prisoner,  must  offer  himself  as  a  hostage  for  his  release. 
He  must  also  give  entertainment  to  his  lord  and  his  retinue  on 
their  journeys. 

Among  other  incidents  attaching  to  a  fief  were  what  were  known 
as  reliefs,  escheats,  and  aids. 

A  relief  was  the  name  given  to  the  sum  of  money  which  an 
heir  upon  coming  into  possession  of  a  fief  must  pay  to  the  lord 
of  the  domain.  This  was  often  a  large  amount,  being  usually  the 
entire  revenue  of  the  estate  for  one  year. 

By  escheat  was  meant  the  falling  back  of  the  fief  into  the  hands 
of  the  lord  through  failure  of  heirs.  If  the  fief  lapsed  through 
disloyalty  or  other  misdemeanor  on  the  part  of  the  vassal,  this 
was  known  as  forfeiture. 

Aids  were  sums  of  money  which  the  lord  had  a  right  to  demand 
to  enable  him  to  meet  unusual  expenditures,  especially  for  defray- 
ing the  expense  of  knighting  his  eldest  son,  for  providing  a  mar- 
riage dower  for  his  eldest  daughter,  and  for  ransoming  his  own 
person  in  case  he  were  made  a  prisoner  of  war.    The  chief  return 

'  I.atin  /lonto,  whence  "homage." 


§417]  SERFS  AND  SERFDOM  289 

that  the  lord  was  bound  to  make  to  the  vassal  as  a  compensation 
for  these  various  services  was  justice  and  protection, — by  no  means 
a  small  return  in  an  age  of  turmoil  and  insecurity. 

417.  Serfs  and  Serfdom.  The  vassals,  or  fief  holders  of  vari- 
ous grades,  constituted  only  a  small  proportion,  perhaps  five  per 
cent  or  less,  of  the  population  of  the  countries  where  feudalism 
came  to  prevail.  The  great  bulk  of  the  folk  were  agricultural 
serfs. ^  These  were  the  men  who  actually  tilled  the  soil.  Just 
how  this  servile  class  arose  is  not  positively  known.  In  some 
countries  at  least  they  seem  to  have  been  the  lineal  descendants  of 
the  slaves  of  Roman  times.  Their  status  varied  greatly  from  coun- 
try to  country  and  from  period  to  period  ;  that  is  to  say,  there 
came  to  be  many  grades  of  serfs  filling  the  space  between  the  actual 
slave  and  the  full  freeman.  Consequently  it  is  impossible  to  give 
any  general  account  of  the  class  which  can  be  regarded  as  a  true 
picture  of  their  actual  condition  as  a  body  at  any  given  time. 
The  following  description  must  therefore  be  taken  as  reflecting 
their  duties  and  disabilities  only  in  the  most  general  way. 

The  first  and  most  characteristic  feature  of  the  condition  of 
the  serfs  was  that  they  were  affixed  to  the  soil.  They  could  not 
of  their  own  will  leave  the  estate  or  manor  to  which  they  be- 
longed; nor,  on  the  other  hand,  could  their  lord  deprive  them  of 
their  holdings  and  set  them  adrift.  When  the  land  changed 
masters  they  passed  with  it,  just  like  a  "rooted  tree  or  stone 
earth-bound." 

Each  serf  had  allotted  him  by  his  lord  a  cottage  and  a  number  of 
acres  of  land,— thirty  acres  formed  a  normal  holding, — consist- 
ing of  numerous  narrow  strips  scattered  about  the  great  open 
fields  of  the  manor.  For  these  he  paid  a  rent,  usually,  during  the 
earlier  feudal  times,  in  kind  and  in  personal  services.  The  personal 
services  included  a  certain  number  of  days'  work,  usually  two  or 

1  There  were  some  free  peasants  and  a  larpe  number  of  free  artisans  and  traders, 
inhabitants  of  the  towns.  The  number  of  actual  slaves  was  small.  They  had  almost  all 
disappeared  before  the  end  of  the  tenth  century',  either  having  been  emancipated  or 
having  been  lifted  into  the  lowest  order  of  serfs,  which  was  an  advance  toward  freedom. 
.At  the  time  of  the  great  Domesday  sur\-ey  (sect.  433)  there  were,  according  to  this 
record,  only  about  25,000  slaves  in  England. 


I 


290  FEUDALISM  AND  CHIVALRY  [§418 

three  days  each  week,  on  the  demesne,  that  is,  the  land  which 
the  lord  had  kept  in  his  own  hands  as  a  sort  of  home  farm.  He 
must  furthermore  grind  his  grain  at  his  lord's  mill,  press  his 
grapes  at  his  wine  press,  bake  his  bread  at  his  oven,  often  paying 
for  these  services  an  unreasonable  toll. 

After  the  serf  had  rendered  to  the  lord  all  the  rent  in  kind  he 
owed  for  his  cottage  and  bit  of  ground,  the  remainder  of  the 
produce  from  his  fields  was,  in  accordance  with  custom  if  not 
always  with  law,  his  own.  Generally  the  share  was  only  just 
sufficient  to  keep  the  wolf  of  hunger  from  his  door. 

What  we  have  now  said  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  nature  of 
the  relations  that  existed  between  the  lord  and  his  serf,  and  will 
indicate  how  servile  and  burdensome  was  the  tenure  by  which  the 
serf  held  his  cottage  and  bit  of  ground.  How  the  serf  gradually 
freed  himself  from  the  heavy  yoke  of  his  servitude  and  became  a 
freeman  will  appear  as  we  advance  in  our  narrative. 

418.  Development  of  the  Feudal  System.  The  development  of 
feudalism  as  a  military  system  was  hastened  by  the  disturbed  state 
of  society  everywhere  during  the  greater  part  of  the  ninth  and  the 
tenth  century ;  for  after  the  death  of  Charlemagne  and  the  parti- 
tion of  his  empire,  it  appeared  as  though  the  world  were  again 
falling  back  into  chaos.  The  bonds  of  society  seemed  entirely 
broken. 

To  internal  disorders  were  added  the  invasions  of  the  outside 
barbarians ;  for,  no  longer  held  in  restraint  by  the  strong  arm  of 
the  great  Charles,  they  had  now  begun  their  raids  anew.  From 
the  north  came  the  Scandinavian  pirates  to  harry  the  shores  of 
Germany,  Gaul,  and  Britain.  The  terror  which  these  pagan  sea 
rovers  inspired  is  commemorated  by  the  supplication  of  the  litany 
of  those  days:  "From  the  fury  of  the  Northmen,  good  Lord, 
deliver  us."  From  the  east  came  the  terrible  Hungarians,  and  by 
the  way  of  the  sea  on  the  south  came  an  equally  dreaded  foe,  the 
Saracens,  who  had  gained  a  foothold  in  Spain  and  Sicily. 

It  was  this  anarchical  state  of  things  which  caused  all  classes  to 
hasten  to  enter  the  feudal  system  in  order  to  secure  the  protection 
which  it  alone  could  afford.    Kings,  princes,  and  wealthy  persons 


PlIOTOCRAPII    OF   AN    OpEN    FIKLD    IN    IIlTClIIN    MaNOR 

Showing  the  grassy  balks,  or  iinplowed  furrows,  which  take  the  place  of  hedges 
and  divide  the  acre  and  half-acre  strips  of  the  great  op'on  field 

'  Tliis  map  is  based  on  cliarts  in  Scebohm's  T'lc  EtigUsh  i'illase  Cotninunity,  and 
illustrates  the  open-liold  system  of  cultivation  of  the  niedixval  manor.  Tlie  thirty  scattered 
strips  colored  red  represent  the  normal  holding  of  a  villain  (villa)tus\\  the  strips  colored 
blue,  comprising  about  one  third  of  the  land  of  the  manor,  show  the  way  in  wliich  tlie 
demesne  of  the  lord  was  often  made  ni>  of  numerous  tracts  scattered  about  the  open  fields 
instead  of  forming  a  continuous  tract  around  the  manor  house;  the  areas  colored  grceu 
represent  the  meadows  and  common  pasture  lands. 


§419]  CASTLES  OF  THE  NOBLES  291 

who  had  large  landed  possessions  which  they  had  never  parceled 
out  as  fiefs  were  now  led  to  do  so,  that  their  estates  might  be  held 
by  tenants  bound  to  protect  them  by  all  the  sacred  obligations  of 
homage  and  fealty.  Thus  sovereigns  and  princes  became  suzerains 
and  feudal  lords.  Again,  the  smaller  proprietors  often  voluntarily 
surrendered  their  little  holdings  into  the  hands  of  some  neighbor- 
ing lord,  and  then  received  them  back  again  from  him  as  fiefs,  that 
they  might  claim  protection  as  vassals.  They  deemed  this  better 
than  being  robbed  of  their  property  altogether. 

Moreover,  for  like  reasons  and  in  like  manner,  churches,  mon- 
asteries, and  cities  became  members  of  the  feudal  system.  They 
granted  out  their  vast  possessions  as  fiefs,  and  thus  became  suze- 
rains and  lords.  Bishops  and  abbots  became  the  heads  of  great 
bands  of  retainers,  and  often  themselves  led  military  expeditions 
like  temporal  chiefs.  On  the  other  hand,  these  same  monasteries 
and  towns  frequently  placed  themselves  under  the  protection 
of  some  powerful  lord,  and  thus  came  in  vassalage  to  him.  Some- 
times the  bishops  and  the  heads  of  religious  houses,  instead  of 
paying  military  service,  bound  themselves  to  say  a  certain  number 
of  Masses  for  the  lord  or  his  family. 

In  this  way  were  Church  and  State,  all  classes  of  society  from 
the  wealthiest  suzerain  to  the  humblest  vassal,  bound  together  by 
feudal  ties.  Everything  was  impressed  with  the  stamp  of  feudalism. 

419.  Castles  of  the  Nobles.  The  lawless  and  violent  character 
of  the  times  during  which  feudalism  prevailed  is  well  shown  by 
the  nature  of  the  residences  which  the  great  nobles  built  for 
themselves.  These  were  strong  stone  fortresses,  often  perched  upon 
some  rocky  eminence  and  defended  by  moats  and  towers.  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  northern  Spain,  England,  and  Scotland,  in  which 
countries  the  feudal  system  became  most  thoroughly  developed, 
fairly  bristled  with  these  fortified  residences  of,  the  nobility. 
Strong  walls  were  the  only  protection  against  the  universal  violence 
of  the  age. 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  picturesque  features  of  the  land- 
scape of  many  regions  in  Europe  today  is  the  ivy-mantled  towers 
and  walls  of  these  feudal  castles,  now  falling  into  ruins. 


292 


FEUDALISM  AND  CHIVALRY 


[§420 


420.  Causes  of  the  Decay  of  Feudalism.  Chief  among  the 
various  causes  which  undermined  and  at  length  overthrew  feu- 
dalism were  the  hostility  of  the  kings  to  the  system,  the  Crusades, 
the  growth  of  the  cities,  and  the  introduction  of  firearms  in  the 
art  of  war. 

The  kings  opposed  the  system  and  sought  to  break  it  down, 
because  it  left  them  only  the  semblance  of  power.    We  shall  see 


Fig.  S4.    Typical  Mkdi.kval  Ca.stle 

later  how  the  kings  came  again  into  their  own  (Chapter  LI).  The 
Crusades,  or  Holy  Wars,  that  agitated  all  Europe  during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  did  much  to  weaken  the  power  of 
the  nobles ;  for  in  order  to  raise  mone}'  for  their  expeditions  they 
frequently  sold  or  mortgaged  their  estates,  and  in  this  way  power 
and  influence  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  kings  or  the  wealthy 
merchants  of  the  cities.  Many  of  the  great  nobles  also  perished 
in  battle  with  the  infidels,  and  their  lands  escheated  to  their 
suzerain,  whose  domains  were  thus  augmented. 

The  growth  of  the  towns  also  tended  to  the  same  end.  As 
they  increased  in  wealth  and  influence,  they  became  able  to  resist 
the  exactions  and  tyranny  of  the  lord  in  whose  fief  they  happened 
to  be,  and  eventually  were  able  to  secede,  as  it  were,  from  his 
authority,  and  to  make  of  themselves  little  republics. 


§421]   CHIEF  DEFECT  OF  THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM      293 

Again,  improvements  and  changes  in  the  mode  of  warfare, 
especially  those  resulting  from  the  use  of  gunpowder,  hastened 
the  downfall  of  feudalism  by  rendering  the  yeoman  foot  soldier 
equal  to  the  armor-clad  knight.  "It  made  all  men  of  the  same 
height,"  as  Carlyle  puts  it. 

But  it  is  to  be  carefully  noted  that,  though  feudalism  as  a 
system  of  government  disappeared,  speaking  broadly,  with  the 
Middle  Ages,  it  still  continued  to  exist  as  a  social  organization. 
The  nobles  lost  their  power  and  authority  as  petty  sovereigns,  but 
retained  their  titles,  their  privileges,  their  social  distinction,  and, 
in  many  cases,  their  vast  landed  estates. 

421.  A  Chief  Defect  of  the  Feudal  System,  A  great  drawback 
from  the  advantages  of  feudalism  was  that  it  rendered  impossible 
the  formation  of  strong  national  governments.  Every  country  was 
divided  and  subdivided  into  a  vast  number  of  practically  inde- 
pendent principalities.  Thus,  in  the  tenth  century  France  was 
partitioned  among  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  overlords,  all  exer- 
cising equal  and  coordinate  powers  of  sovereignty.  The  enormous 
estates  of  these  great  lords  were  again  subdivided  into  about 
seventy  thousand  smaller  liefs. 

In  theory,  as  we  have  seen,  the  holders  of  these  petty  estates 
were  bound  to  serve  and  obey  their  overlords,  and  these  great 
nobles  were  in  turn  the  sworn  vassals  of  the  French  king.  But 
many  of  these  lords  were  richer  and  stronger  than  the  king  him- 
self, and  if  they  chose  to  cast  off  their  allegiance  to  him,  he  found 
it  impossible  to  reduce  them  to  obedience.  The  king's  time  was 
chiefly  occupied  in  ineffectual  efforts  to  reduce  his  haughty  and 
refractory  nobles  to  proper  submission,  and  in  intervening  feebly 
to  compose  their  endless  quarrels  with  one  another.  It  is  easy  to 
conceive  the  anarchy  produced  by  this  state  of  things. 

422.  The  Good  Results  of  Feudalism.  The  most  conspicuous 
service  that  feudalism  rendered  European  civilization  was  the  pro- 
tection which  it  gave  to  society  after  the  break-up  of  the  empire 
of  Charles  the  Great.  "It  was  the  mailed  feudal  horseman  and 
the  impregnable  walls  of  the  feudal  castle  that  foiled  the  attacks 
of  the  Danes,  the  Saracens,  and  the  Hungarians"   (Oman). 


294  FEUDALISM  AND  CHIVALRY  L§  423 

Feudalism  rendered  another  noteworthy  service  to  society  in 
fostering  among  its  privileged  members  self-reliance  and  love  of 
personal  independence.  Turbulent,  violent,  and  refractory  as  was 
the  feudal  aristocracy  of  Europe,  it  performed  the  grand  service 
of  keeping  alive  during  the  later  mediaeval  period  the  spirit  of 
liberty.  The  feudal  lords  would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  dealt 
with  arrogantly  by  their  king ;  they  stood  on  their  rights  as  free- 
men. Hence  royalty  was  prevented  from  becoming  as  despotic 
as  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case.  Thus,  in  England,  for 
instance,  the  feudal  lords  held  such  tyrannical  rulers  as  King  John 
in  check  (sect.  487),  until  such  time  as  the  yeoman  and  the 
burgher  were  bold  enough  and  strong  enough  alone  to  stand  against 
and  to  baffle  their  despotically  inclined  sovereigns. 

Another  of  the  good  effects  of  feudalism  was  the  impulse  it 
gave  to  certain  forms  of  polite  literature.  Just  as  learning  and 
philosophy  were  fostered  by  the  seclusion  of  the  cloister,  so  were 
poetry  and  romance  fostered  by  the  open  and  joyous  hospitalities 
of  the  baronial  hall.  The  castle  door  was  always  open  to  the 
wandering  singer  and  story-teller,  and  it  was  amidst  the  scenes 
of  festivity  within  that  the  ballads  and  romances  of  mediaeval 
minstrelsy  and  literature  had  their  birth. 

Still  another  service  which  feudalism  rendered  to  civilization 
was  the  development  within  the  baronial  castle  of  those  ideas 
and  sentiments — among  others  a  nice  sense  of  honor  and  an 
exalted  consideration  for  woman  —  which  found  their  noblest 
expression  in  chivalry,  of  which  institution  and  its  good  effects 
upon  the  social  life  of  Europe  we  shall  now  proceed  to  speak. 

II.  CHIVALRY 

423.  Chivalry  defined ;  Origin  of  the  Institution.  Chivalry 
has  been  aptly  defined  as  the  "Flower  of  T'eudalism."  It  was  a 
military  institution  or  order,  the  members  of  which,  called  knights, 
were  pledged  to  the  protection  of  the  Church  and  to  the  defense 
of  the  weak  and  the  oppressed.  It  grew  out  of  feudalism  in  the 
following  way :   It   became   the   rule   that   all    fief   holders   must 


§424]  THE  CEREMONY  OF  KNIGHTING  295 

render  military  service  on  horseback.  Fighting  on  horseback 
gradually  became  the  normal  mode  and  for  centuries  remained  so. 
Gradually  this  feudal  warrior  caste  underwent  a  transformation. 
It  became  in  part  independent  of  the  feudal  system,  in  so  far  as 
that  had  to  do  with  the  land,  so  that  any  person,  if  qualified  by 
birth  and  properly  initiated,  might  be  a  member  of  the  order 
without  being  the  holder  of  a  fief.  A  great  part  of  the  later 
knights  were  portionless  sons  of  the  nobility. 

424.  Training  of  the  Knight.  When  chivalry  had  once  be- 
come established,  all  the  sons  of  the  nobility,  save  such  as  were 
to  enter  the  holy  orders  of  the  Church,  were  set  apart  and  dis- 
ciplined for  its  service.  The  sons  of  the  poorer  nobles  were 
usually  placed  in  the  family  of  some  lord  of  renown,  where  they 
were  trained  in  the  duties  and  exercises  of  knighthood. 

This  education  began  at  the  early  age  of  seven,  the  youth  bear- 
ing the  name  of  page  or  varlet  until  he  attained  the  age  of  four- 
teen, when  he  acquired  the  title  of  squire,  or  esquire.  The  lord 
and  his  knights  trained  the  boys  in  manly  and  martial  duties, 
while  the  ladies  of  the  castle  instructed  them  in  the  duties  of 
religion  and  in  all  knightly  etiquette.  The  duties  of  the  page  were 
usually  confined  to  the  castle,  though  sometimes  he  accompanied 
his  lord  to  the  field.  The  esquire  always  attended  in  battle  the 
knight  to  whom  he  was  attached,  carrying  his  arms  and,  if  need 
be,  engaging  in  the  fight. 

425.  The  Ceremony  of  Knighting.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
the  squire  became  a  knight,  being  then  introduced  to  the  order 
of  knighthood  by  a  peculiar  and  impressive  service.  After  a  long 
fast  and  vigil  the  candidate  listened  to  a  lengthy  sermon  on  his 
duties  as  a  knight.  Then  kneeling,  as  in  the  feudal  ceremony  of 
homage,  before  the  lord  conducting  the  services,  he  vowed  to 
defend  religion  and  the  ladies,  to  succor  the  distressed,  and  ever 
to  be  faithful  to  his  companion  knights.  His  arms  were  now  given 
to  him,  and  his  sword  was  girded  on,  when  the  lord,  striking  him 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword  on  the  shoulders,  said,  "In  the  name  of 
God,  of  St.  Michael,  and  of  St.  George,  I  dub  thee  knight ;  be 
brave,  bold,  and  loyal." 


296 


FEUDALISIM  AND  CHIVALRY 


[§426 


426.  The  Tournament.  The  tournament  was  the  favorite 
amusement  of  the  age  of  chivalry.  It  was  a  mimic  battle  between 
two  companies  of  knights,  armed  usually  with  pointless  swords  or 
blunted  lances.  In  the  later  period  of  chivalry  it  assumed  the 
character  of  a  gay  and  elegant  festival.  The  prince  or  baron  giv- 
ing the  tournament  made  wide  proclamation  of  the  event,  brave 
and  distinguished  knights  being  invited  even  from  distant  lands 


Fk;.  85.    A  Tii/riN'c;  Match  hetwickn  Two  Knichts 


to  grace  the  occasion  with  their  presence  and  an  exhibition  of 
their  skill  and  prowess.  The  lists — a  level  space  marked  off 
by  a  rope  or  railing  and  surrounded  with  galleries  for  spectators — 
were  made  gay  with  banners  and  tapestries  and  heraldic  emblems. 

Victory  was  accorded  to  him  who  unhorsed  his  antagonist  or 
broke  in  a  proper  manner  the  greatest  number  of  lances.  The 
reward  of  the  victor  was  a  wreath  of  flowers,  armor,  greyhounds, 
or  steeds  decked  with  knightly  trappings,  and,  more  esteemed  than 
all  else,  the  praises  and  favor  of  his  lady-love. 

427.  Decline  of  Chivalry.  The  fifteenth  century  was  the  eve- 
ning of  chivalry.  The  decline  of  the  system  resulted  from  the 
operation   of  the   same   causes   that   effected    the   overthrow   of 


§428]  THE  GOOD  IN  CHIVALRY  297 

feudalism.  The  changes  in  the  mode  of  warfare  which  helped  to 
do  away  with  the  feudal  baron  and  his  mail-clad  retainers  likewise 
tended  to  destroy  knight-errantry.  And  then,  as  civilization  ad- 
vanced, new  feelings  and  sentiments  began  to  claim  the  attention 
and  to  work  upon  the  imagination  of  men.  Governments,  too, 
became  more  regular,  and  the  increased  order  and  security  of 
society  rendered  less  needful  the  services  of  the  gallant  knight  in 
behalf  of  the  weak  and  the  oppressed. 

428.  The  Good  in  Chivalry.  Chivalry  contributed  powerfully 
to  lift  that  sentiment  of  respect  for  the  gentler  sex  which  charac- 
terized all  the  northern  nations,  into  that  tender  veneration  of 
woman  which  forms  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  present 
age,  and  makes  it  differ  from  all  preceding  phases  of  civilization. 

Again,  chivalry  did  much  to  create  that  ideal  of  character — 
an  ideal  distinguished  by  the  virtues  of  courtesy,  gentleness, 
humanity,  loyalty,  magnanimity,  and  fidelity  to  the  plighted 
word — which  we  rightly  think  to  surpass  any  ever  formed 
under  the  influences  of  antiquity.  Just  as  Christianity  gave  to 
the  world  an  ideal  of  manhood  which  it  was  to  strive  to  realize, 
so  did  chivalry  hold  up  an  ideal  to  which  men  were  to  conform 
their  lives.  ]\Ien,  indeed,  have  never  perfectly  realized  either 
the  ideal  of  Christianity  or  that  of  chivalry;  but  the  influence 
which  these  two  ideals  have  had  in  shaping  and  giving  character 
to  the  lives  of  men  cannot  be  overestimated.  Together,  through 
the  enthusiasm  and  effort  awakened  for  their  realization,  they 
have  produced  a  new  type  of  manhood,  which  we  indicate  by  the 
phrase  "a  knightly  and  Christian  character." 

References.  Emerton,  E.,  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  chap,  xv  ;  and 
Mediaval  Europe,  chap,  xiv  and  the  first  part  of  chap.  xv.  Adams,  G.  B.,  Civi- 
lization during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  ix.  Seignohos,  C,  The  Feudal  Regime. 
Seehohm,  F.,  The  English  Village  Community-  Cheyney,  Y^.Y.,  An  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Industrial  and  Social  Histor}'  of  England,  chap,  ii,  "  Rural  Life  and 
Organization."  Munro,  D.  C,  and  Sellery,  G.  C,  Mediaral  Civilization, 
pp.  159-211  and  240-247.  Ja.mes,  G.  V.  R.,  History  of  Chivahy.  CoRMSH,  F.  W., 
Chivalry, 


MZl^^MlMJi^bik/JjfLi 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST  OF  ENGLAND  ^ 

429.  Introductory.  The  history  of  the  Normans — the  name, 
it  will  be  recalled,  of  the  transformed  Scandinavians  who  settled 
in  northern  Gaul  (sect.  411)— is  simply  a  continuation  of  the 
story  of  the  Northmen;  and  nothing  could  better  illustrate  the 
difference  between  the  period  we  have  left  behind  and  the  one 
upon  which  we  have  entered,  nothing  could  more  strikingly 
exhibit  the  gradual  transformation  that  has  crept  over  the  face 
and  spirit  of  European  society,  than  the  transformation  which 
time  and  favoring  associations  have  wrought  in  these  men.  When 
first  we  met  them  in  the  ninth  century  they  were  pagans;  now 
they  are  Christians.  Then  they  were  rough,  wild,  merciless  cor- 
sairs; now  they  are  become  the  most  cultured,  polished,  and 
chivalrous  people  in  Europe.  But  the  restless,  daring  spirit  that 
drove  the  Norse  sea-kings  forth  upon  the  waves  in  quest  of 
adventure  and  booty  still  stirs  in  the  breasts  of  their  descendants. 

Note.  The  picture  at  the  head  of  this  page  sliows  the  landinp;  in  England  of 
William  of  Normandy.  It  is  from  the  celebrated  Bayaix  Taf'cstiy.  This  is  a  strip  of 
linen  canvas  over  two  hundred  feet  long  and  nineteen  inches  wide,  upon  which  are 
embroidered  in  colors  seventy-two  pictures,  representing  episodes  in  the  Norman  Con- 
quest of  England.  The  work  was  executed  not  long  after  the  events  it  depicts,  and  is 
named  from  the  cathedral  in  France  where  it  is  kept.  Its  importance  consists  in  the 
information  it  conveys  respecting  the  life  and  manners,  and  the  costumes,  arms,  and 
armor  of  the  times. 

1  Not  long  before  the  Normans  conquered  England,  they  succeeded  in  gaining  a 
foothold  in  the  south  of  Italy,  where  they  established  a  feudal  state,  which  ultimately 
included  the  island  of  .Sicily.  The  fourth  head  of  the  commonwealth  was  the  celebrated 
Robert  fluiscard  (d.  1085),  who  spread  the  renown  of  the  Norman  name  throughout  the 
Mediterranean  lands.  This  Norman  state,  converted  finally  into  a  kingdom,  lasted  until 
late  in  the  twelfth  century  (i  194). 

298 


§430]  EVENTS  LEADING  UP  TO  THE  CONQUEST      299 

As  has  been  said,  they  were  simply  changed  from  heathen 
Vikings,  deHghting  in  the  wild  life  of  sea  rover  and  pirate,  into 
Christian  knights,  eager  for  pilgrimages  and  crusades. 

The  most  important  of  the  enterprises  of  the  Normans,  and 
one  followed  by  consequences  of  the  greatest  magnitude  not  only 
to  the  conquered  people  but  indirectly  to  the  world,  was  their 
conquest  of  England. 

430.  Events  leading  up  to  the  Conquest.  In  the  year  1066 
Edward  the  Confessor,  in  whose  person,  it  will  be  recalled,  the  old 
English  line  was  restored  after  the  Danish  usurpation  (sect.  410), 
died,  and  immediately  the  Witan,'  in  accordance  with  the  dying 
wish  of  the  king,  chose  Harold,  Earl  of  Wessex,  the  best  and 
strongest  man  in  all  England,  to  be  his  successor. 

When  the  news  of  the  action  of  the  Witan  and  of  Harold's 
acceptance  of  the  English  crown  was  carried  across  the  Chan- 
nel to  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  he  was  greatly  vexed.  He 
declared  that  Edward,  who  was  his  cousin,  had  during  his  life- 
time promised  the  throne  to  him,  and  that  Harold  had  assented 
to  this,  and  by  solemn  oath  engaged  to  sustain  him.  He  now 
demanded  of  Harold  that  he  surrender  to  him  the  usurped  throne, 
threatening  the  immediate  invasion  of  the  island  in  case  he 
refused.  King  Harold  answered  the  demand  by  collecting  an 
army  for  the  defense  of  his  dominions.  Duke  William  now  made 
ready  for  a  descent  upon  the  English  coast. 

431.  The  Battle  of  Hastings  (loee).  The  Norman  army  of 
invasion  landed  in  the  south  of  England,  at  the  port  of  Hastings, 
which  place  gave  name  to  the  battle  that  almost  immediately 
followed, — the  battle  that  was  to  determine  the  fate  of  England. 
The  battle  once  joined,  the  conflict  was  long  and  terrific.  The  day 
finally  went  against  the  English.  Harold  fell,  pierced  through 
the  eye  by  an  arrow ;  and  William  was  master  of  the  field.  He 
now  marched  upon  London,  and  at  Westminster,  on  Christmas 
Day,  1066,  was  crowned  king  of  England. 

1  The  Witan,  or  Witenagemot,  which  means  the  "  Meeting  of  the  Wise  Men,"  was 
the  common  council  of  the  realm.     The  House  of  Lords  of  the  present  Parliament  is  a 

survival  of  this  early  national  assembly. 


300       THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST  OF  ENGLAND     [§  432 

432.  The  Distribution  of  the  Land  and  the  Gemot  of  Salis- 
bury. Almost  the  first  act  of  William  after  he  had  established  his 
power  in  England  was  to  fulfdl  his  promise  to  the  nobles  who  had 
aided  him  in  his  enterprise,  by  distributing  among  them  the  for- 
feited estates  of  the  English  who  had  fought  against  him  at  Has- 
tings. Profiting  by  the  lesson  taught  by  the  wretched  condition  of 
France,  which  country  was  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  turmoil  by  a 
host  of  feudal  lords,  many  of  whom  were  almost  or  quite  as  power- 
ful as  the  king  himself,  William  took  care  that  in  the  distribution 
no  feudatory  should  receive  an  entire  shire,  save  in  two  or  three 
exceptional  cases.  To  the  great  lord  to  whom  he  must  needs  give  a 
large  fief,  he  granted  not  a  continuous  tract  of  land  but  several 
estates  or  manors  scattered  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  in 
order  that  there  might  be  no  dangerous  concentration  of  property 
or  power  in  the  hands  of  the  vassal. 

Another  equally  important  limitation  of  the  power  of  the  vassal 
was  effected  by  William  through  his  requiring  all  fief  holders,  great 
and  small,  to  take  an  oath  of  fealty  directly  to  him  as  overlord. 
This  was  a  great  innovation  upon  feudal  custom,  for  the  rule  was 
that  the  vassal  should  swear  fealty  to  his  own  immediate  lord  only, 
and  in  war  follow  his  banner  even  against  his  own  king.  The 
oath  that  William  exacted  from  every  fief  holder  made  the  alle- 
giance which  he  owed  to  his  king  superior  to  that  which  he  owed 
to  his  own  immediate  lord.  At  the  great  gemot,  or  military 
assembly,  of  Salisbury  in  the  year  io86  "all  the  landholders  of 
substance  in  England"  swore  to  William  this  solemn  oath  of 
superior  fealty  and  allegiance. 

William  also  denied  to  his  feudatories  the  right  of  coining 
money  and  making  laws;  and  by  other  wise  restrictions  upon 
their  power  he  saved  England  from  those  endless  contentions  and 
petty  wars  that  were  distracting  almost  every  other  country  of 
Europe. 

433.  Domesday  Book.  One  of  the  most  celebrated  acts  of 
the  Conqueror  was  the  making  of  Domesday  Book.  This  famous 
book  contained  a  description  and  valuation  of  all  the  lands  of 
England, — excepting  those  of  some  counties,  mostly  in  the  north, 


§434] 


THE  CURFEW 


301 


that  were  either  unconquered  or  unsettled  ;  an  enumeration  of  the 
cattle  and  sheep  ;  and  statements  of  the  income  of  every  man. 
It  was  intended,  in  a  word,  to  be  a  perfect  survey  and  census  of 
the  entire  kingdom. 

434.  The  Curfew.  Among  the  regulations  said  to  have  been 
introduced  into  England  by  the  Conqueror  was  one  known  as  the 
Curjew.  This  law  required  that,  upon  the  ringing  of  the  church 
bell  at  nightfall, 
every  person  should 
be  at  home,  and 
that  the  fires  should 
be  buried^  and  the 
lights  extinguished. 

Two  reasons  have 
been  assigned  for 
this  ordinance :  the 
one  supposes  that 
its  object  was  to 
prevent  thepeople's 
assembling  by  night 
to  plan  or  execute 
treasonable  under- 
takings ;  the  other 

represents  it  simply  as  a  safeguard  against  fire.  The  law  was 
certainly  in  force  in  Normandy  before  the  Conquest ;  indeed,  it 
was  a  universal  custom  of  police  throughout  the  whole  of  mediaeval 
Europe. 

435.  The  Norman  Successors  of  the  Conqueror.  For  nearly 
three  quarters  of  a  century  after  the  death  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, England  was  ruled  by  Norman  kings.  The  latter  part 
of  this  period  was  a  troublous  time.  The  succession  to  the 
crown  coming  into  dispute,  civil  war  broke  out.  The  result  of 
the  contention  was  a  decline  in  the  royal  power,  and  the  ascend- 
ancy of  the  Norman  barons,  who  for  a  time  made  England  the 
scene  of  the  same  feudal  anarchy  that  prevailed  at  this  period 

1  Hence  the  term  Curfc-u\  from  couvrir,  ^'  Xq  <;pver,"  and /<•;/,  "  fire." 


Fig.  86.     Domesday  Book.    (From  a  facsimile 
edition  published  by  royal  command  in  1862) 

There  are  two  large  volumes  of  the  survey,  one  being  a 

folio  of  760  pages  and  the  other  a  large  octavo  of  900  pages. 

The  strong  box  shown  in  the  cut  is  the  chest  in  which  the 

volumes  were  formerly  kept 


302        THE  NORMAX  CONQUEST  OF  ENGLAND     [§  436 

upon  the  Continent.  Finally,  in  1154,  the  Norman  dynasty  gave 
place  to  that  of  the  Flantagenets.  Under  Henry  H,  the  first  king 
of  the  new  house,  and  an  energetic  and  strong  ruler,  the  barons 
were  again  brought  into  proper  subjection  to  the  crown,  and  many 
castles  which  had  been  built  without  royal  permission  during  the 
preceding  anarchical  period,  and  some  of  which  at  least  were  little 
better  than  robbers'  dens,  were  dismantled  and  demolished. 

436.  Results  of  the  Norman  Conquest.  The  most  important 
and  noteworthy  outcome  of  the  Conquest  was  the  establishment  in 
England  of  a  strong  centralized  government,  which  resulted  largely 
from  the  modification  of  feudal  rules  and  practices  effected  by  the 
Conqueror.  England  now  became  a  real  kingdom, — what  it  had 
hardly  been  in  more   than  semblance  before. 

A  second  result  of  the  Conquest  was  the  founding  of  a  new 
feudal  aristocracy.  The  Saxon  thane  was  displaced  by  the  Nor- 
man baron.  This  not  only  introduced  a  new  and  more  refined 
element  into  the  social  life  of  England,  but  it  also  changed  the 
membership,  the  temper,  and  the  name  of  the  national  assembly, 
the  old  English  Witan  now  becoming  the  Parliament  of  later  times. 

A  third  result  of  the  Conquest  was  the  drawing  of  England  into 
closer  relations  with  the  countries  of  Continental  Europe.  The 
Norman  conquest  of  the  island  was  in  this  respect  like  the  Roman. 
Through  the  many  Continental  relations — political,  social,  com- 
mercial, and  ecclesiastical  —  now  established  or  made  more  inti- 
mate, England's  advance  in  trade,  in  architecture,  in  her  religious 
and  intellectual  life,  was  greatly  promoted.  And  in  this  connec- 
tion must  be  borne  in  mind  particularly  the  close  political  and 
feudal  relations  into  which  England  was  brought  with  France,  for 
out  of  these  grew  the  jealousies  and  rivalries  which  led  to  the 
long  Hundred  Years'  War  between  the  two  countries. 

References.  IIaskins,  C.  II.,  T/ie  .Vcrmu/ts  hi  Eui-opcau  Iliston'.  Frf.k- 
MAN,  I..  A.,  The  Xormait  Conquest  (a  little  book  which  contains  "the  .same 
tale  told  afresh,"  that  fills  the  six  volumes  of  the  author's  earlier  great  work  on 
the  ('onquest).  Joiinsc^n,  A.  II.,  The  Norrnans  in  I'.urope.  Stf.nton,  Y.  M., 
William  the  Conqueror.  CREASY,  E.  S.,  The  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World, 
chap.  vii. 


CHAPTER  XLV 
THE  PAPACY  AND  THE  EMPIRE 

437.  The  Two  World  Powers.  "The  two  great  ideas,"  says 
James  Bryce,  "which  expiring  antiquity  bequeathed  to  the  ages 
that  followed  were  those  of  a  world  monarchy  and  a  world  reli- 
gion." We  have  seen  how  out  of  one  of  these  ideas,  under  the 
favoring  circumstances  of  the  earlier  mediaeval  centuries,  was 
developed  the  Empire,  and  out  of  the  other  the  Papacy.  The 
history  of  these  two  powers,  of  their  relations  to  the  rulers  and 
the  peoples  of  Europe,  and  of  their  struggle  with  each  other  for 
supremacy,  makes  up  a  large  part  of  the  history  of  the  mediaeval 
centuries.  It  is  of  these  important  matters  that  we  must  now 
try  to  get  some  sort  of  understanding. 

What  we  have  learned  about  the  ideas  and  principles  of  feu- 
dalism will  aid  us  greatly  in  our  study,  for,  as  we  shall  see,  the 
whole  long  struggle  between  these  two  world  powers  was  deeply 
marked  by  feudal  conceptions  and  practices. 

438.  The  Three  Theories  respecting  the  Relations  of  Pope 
and  Emperor.  After  the  revival  of  the  Empire  in  the  West  and 
the  rise  of  the  Papacy,  there  gradually  grew  up  three  different 
theories  in  regard  to  the  divinely  established  relation  of  the  Pope 
and  the  Emperor.  The  first  was  that  each  was  independently  com- 
missioned by  God,  the  Pope  to  rule  the  spirits  of  men,  the  Emperor 
to  rule  their  bodies.  Each  reigning  thus  by  original  divine  right, 
neither  is  set  above  the  other,  but  both  are  to  cooperate  and  to  help 
each  other.  The  special  duty  of  the  temporal  power  is  to  maintain 
order  in  the  world  and  to  be  the  protector  of  the  Church. 

The  second  theory,  the  one  held  by  the  imperial  party,  was  that 
the  Emperor  was  superior  to  the  Pope  in  secular  affairs.  Argu- 
ments from  Scripture  and  from  the  transactions  of  history  were 
not  wanting  to  support  this  view.  Thus  Christ's  payment  of  tribute 

303 


304 


THE  PAPACY  AND  THE  EMPIRE 


[§  438 


money  was  cited  as  proof  that  he  regarded  the  temporal  power 
as  superior  to  the  spiritual.  And  then,  did  he  not  say,  "Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's"?  Further,  the  gift 
of  certain  lands  by  Charlemagne  and  an  earlier  Prankish  prince 

to  the  Roman  See  (sect.  382)  made  the 
popes,  it  was  maintained,  the  vassals 
of  the  emperors. 

The  third  theory,  the  one  held  by  the 
papal  party,  maintained  that  the  or- 
dained relation  of  the  two  powers  was 
the  subordination  of  the  temporal  to 
the  spiritual  authority,  even  in  civil 
affairs.  This  view  was  maintained  by 
such  texts  of  Scripture  as  these :  "'  But 
he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things, 
yet  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man";^ 
"  See,  I  have  this  day  set  thee  over  the 
nations  and  over  the  kingdoms,  to  root 
out,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy, 
and  to  throw  down,  to  build,  and  to 
plant."-  The  conception  was  further 
illustrated  by  such  comparisons  as  the 
following, —  for  in  mediaeval  times  par- 
able and  metaphor  often  took  the  place 
of  argument :  As  God  has  set  in  the 
heavens  two  lights,  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  so  has  he  established  on  earth 
two  powers,  the  spiritual  and  the  tem- 
poral ;  but  as  the  moon  is  inferior  to 
the  sun  and  receives  its  light  from  it,  so  is  the  Emperor  inferior 
to  the  Pope  and  receives  all  power  from  him. 

The  first  theory  was  the  impractical  dream  of  lofty  souls  who 
forgot  that  men  are  human.  Christendom  was  virtually  divided 
into  two  hostile  camps  the  members  of  which  were  respectively 
supporters  of  the  imperial  and  the  papal  theory. 


Fui.  87.    Till-:   .Si'iKiTiAL 

ANIJ  TIIK  'I'lCMI'OKAL 

Power.     (From    a    ninth- 
century  mosaic  in  the  Lat- 
eran  at  Rome;  after  Jaeger, 
Weltgeschichte) 

St.  Fcter  gives  to  Pope  Leo  1 1 1 
the  stola  and  to  Charlemagne 
the  banner  of  Rome  as  symbols 
of  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
powers.  The  portrait  of  Charle- 
magne here  shown  is  with  little 
doubt  the  oldest  in  existence 


'  1  Corinthians  ii.  i  ;. 


-  Jeremiah  i.  lo. 


§439]     POPE  GREGORY  VII  AND  HIS  REFORMS        305 

439.  Pope  Gregory  VII  (1073-1085)  and  his  Reforms.  One 
of  the  most  eminent  supporters  of  the  papal  claims  was  Pope 
Gregory  VII,  better  known  by  his  earlier  name  of  Hildebrand, 
the  most  noteworthy  character,  after  Charlemagne,  that  the  ]\Iid- 
dle  Ages  produced.  When  Gregory  came  to  the  papal  throne  one 
grave  danger  threatening  the  Church  was  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy.  At  this  time  a  great  part  of  the  minor  clergy  were  married. 
Gregory  resolved  to  bring  all  the  clergy  to  the  strict  observance  of 
celibate  vows.  By  thus  separating  the  priests  from  the  attachments 
of  home,  and  lifting  from  them  all  family  burdens  and  cares,  he 
aimed  to  render  their  consecration  to  the  duties  of  their  offices  more 
whole-souled  and  their  dependence  upon  the  Church  more  com- 
plete. Though  obstinately  opposed  by  a  large  section  of  the  clergy, 
this  reform  was  finally  effected, — but  not  in  Gregory's  lifetime, — 
so  that  celibacy  became  as  binding  upon  the  priest  as  upon  the  monk. 

Gregory's  second  reform,  the  correction  of  simony,^  had  for 
one  of  its  objects  the  freeing  of  the  lands  and  offices  of  the  Church 
from  the  control  of  lay  lords  and  princes,  and  the  bringing  of  them 
more  completely  under  the  direction  of  the  Roman  pontiff.  The 
evil  of  simony  had  grown  up  in  the  Church  chiefly  in  the  follow- 
ing way.  As  the  feudal  system  took  possession  of  European 
society,  the  Church,  like  individuals  and  cities,  assumed  feudal 
relations ;  abbots  and  bishops,  as  the  heads  of  monasteries  and 
churches,  for  the  sake  of  protection,  became  the  vassals  of  power- 
ful barons  or  princes.  When  once  a  prelate  had  promised  fealty 
for  his  estates  or  temporalities,  as  they  were  called,  these  became 
henceforth  a  permanent  fief  of  the  overlord  and  subject  to  all  the 
incidents  of  the  feudal  tenure.  When  a  vacancy  occurred  the 
lord  assumed  the  right  to  fill  it,  just  as  in  case  of  the  escheat  of  a 
lay  fief.-  In  this  way  the  temporal  rulers  throughout  Europe  had 
come  to  exercise  the  right  of  nominating  or  confirming  the  election 
of  almost  all  the  great  prelates  of  the  Church. 

1  By  simony  is  meant  the  purchase  of  an  office  in  the  Church,  tlie  name  of  the  offense 
coming  from  Simon  Magus,  who  offered  Peter  money  for  the  power  to  confer  the  Holy 
Spirit.    See  Acts  viii.  9-24. 

^  The  clergy  and  monks  still  retained  tlie  nominal  right  of  election,  but  too  fre- 
quently an  election  by  them  was  a  mere  matter  of  form.    For  a  typical  case  see  sect.  459. 


3o6 


THE  PAPACY  AND  THE  EMPIRE 


[§440 


Xovv  these  lay  princes  who  had  the  patronage  of  these  Church 
offices  and  lands  handled  them  just  as  they  did  their  lay  fiefs. 
They  required  the  person  nominated  to  an"  abbacy  or  to  a  bishop- 
ric to  pay  for  the  appointment  and  investiture  a  sum  proportioned 
to  the  income  from  the  office.  This  was  in  strict  accord  with  the 
feudal  rule  which  allowed  the  lord  to  demand  from  the  vassal, 

upon  his  investiture  with  a  fief,  a 
sum  of  money  called  a  relief  (sect. 
416).  This  rule,  thus  applied  to 
Church  lands  and  offices,  was,  it 
is  easy  to  see,  the  cause  of  great 
evil  and  corruption.  The  eccle- 
siastical vacancies  were  virtually 
sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  at 
times  the  most  unsuitable  persons 
became  bishops  and  abbots. 

To  remedy  the  evil,  Gregory 
issued  decrees  forbidding  anyone 
of  the  clergy  to  receive  the  investi- 
ture of  a  bishopric  or  abbey  or 
church  from  the  hands  of  a  tem- 
poral prince  or  lord.  Anyone  who 
should  dare  to  disobey  these  de- 
crees was  threatened  with  the 
penalties  of  the  Church. 
440.  Excommunications  and  Interdicts.  The  chief  instru- 
ments relied  upon  by  Gregory  for  enforcing  his  decrees  were  the 
spiritual  weapons  of  the  Church, — excommunication  and  interdict. 
The  first  was  directed  against  individuals.  The  person  excom- 
municated was  cut  off  practically  from  all  relations  with  his 
fellow-men  and  became  an  outcast.  If  a  king,  his  subjects  were 
released  from  their  oath  of  allegiance.  Anyone  providing  the 
excommunicate  with  food  or  shelter  incurred  the  censure  of  the 
Church.  Living,  the  excommunicated  person  was  to  be  shunned 
as  though  tainted  with  an  infectious  disease;  and  dead,  he  was  to 
be  refused  the  ordinarv  rites  of  burial. 


Fig.  88.  Investituuk  of  a 
Bishop  by  a  King  thkoigh 
THE  Giving  of  the  Crosier, 
OK  Pastoral  Staff.  (From  a 
manuscript  of  the  tenth  century) 


§441]  THE  INVESTITURE  CONTEST  307 

The  interdict  was  directed  against  a  city,  province,  or  kingdom. 
Throughout  the  region  under  this  ban  the  churches  were  closed; 
no  bell  could  be  rung,  no  marriage  celebrated,  no  burial  ceremony 
performed.  The  sacraments  of  baptism  and  extreme  unction  alone 
could  be  administered. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  in  modern  days  to  realize  the  effect  of 
these  bans  during  these  early  ages.  They  rarely  failed  in  bring- 
ing the  most  contumacious  offender  to  a  speedy  and  abject 
confession,  or  in  effecting  his  undoing.  This  will  appear  in  the 
following  paragraph. 

441.  The  Investiture  Contest;  Emperor  Henry  IV's  Humili- 
ation at  Canossa  (lovv).  It  was  in  Germany  that  Gregory  ex- 
perienced the  most  formidable  opposition  to  his  reform  measures. 
The  Emperor-elect,  King  Henry  IV  (1056-1106),  who  had  been 
threatened  by  Gregory  with  excommunication  and  deposition, 
gathering  in  council  such  of  the  prelates  of  the  Empire  as  would 
answer  his  call,  even  dared  to  bid  him  descend  from  the  papal 
throne.  Gregory  in  turn  gathered  a  council  at  Rome  and  deposed 
and  excommunicated  the  Emperor. 

Henry's  excommunication  encouraged  a  revolt  on  the  part  of 
some  of  his  discontented  subjects.  He  was  shunned  as  a  man 
accursed  by  Heaven.  His  authority  seemed  to  have  slipped  en- 
tirely out  of  his  hands,  and  his  kingdom  was  on  the  point  of  going 
to  pieces.  In  this  wretched  state  of  his  affairs  there  was  but  one 
thing  for  him  to  do, —  to  go  to  Gregory  and  humbly  sue  for  pardon 
and  reinstatement  in  the  favor  of  the  Church. 

Henry  sought  Gregory  among  the  Apennines,  at  Canossa,  a 
stronghold  of  the  celebrated  Countess  Matilda  of  Tuscany.  But 
Gregory  refused  to  admit  him  to  his  presence.  It  was  winter,  and 
on  three  successive  days  the  king,  clothed  in  sackcloth,  stood  with 
bare  feet  in  the  snow  of  the  courtyard  of  the  castle,  waiting  for 
permission  to  kneel  at  the  feet  of  the  pontiff  and  to  receive  for- 
giveness. On  the  fourth  day  the  king  was  admitted  to  the  presence 
of  Gregory  and  the  sentence  of  excommunication  was  removed. 

Henry  afterwards  avenged  his  humiliation.  He  raised  an  army, 
descended  upon  Rome,  and  drove  Gregory  into  exile  at  Salerno, 


3o8  THE  PAPACY  AND  THE  EMPIRE  [§  442 

where  he  died  with  these  words  on  his  lips:  "I  have  loved  justice 
and  hated  iniquity,  and  therefore  I  die  an  exile." 

But  the  quarrel  did  not  end  here.  It  was  taken  up  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  Gregory,  and  Henry  was  again  excommunicated.  After 
maintaining  a  long  struggle  with  the  power  of  the  Church  and 
with  his  own  sons,  who  were  incited  to  rebel  against  him,  he 
finally  died  broken-hearted. 

442.  Concordat  of  Worms  (1122).  Henry's  successors  main- 
tained the  quarrel  with  the  popes.  The  outcome  of  the  matter, 
after  many  years  of  bitter  contention,  was  the  celebrated  Con- 
cordat of  Worms.  It  was  agreed  that  all  bishops  and  abbots  of 
the  Empire,  after  free  election  by  those  having  this  right,  should 
receive  the  ring  and  staff,  the  symbols  of  their  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion, from  the  Pope,  but  that  the  Emperor  should  exercise  the 
right  of  investiture  by  the  touch  of  a  scepter,  the  emblem  of  tem- 
poral rights  and  authority.  This  was  a  recognition  by  both  parties 
that  all  spiritual  authority  emanates  from  the  Church  and  all 
temporal  authority  from  the  State.  It  was  a  compromise, — "a 
rendering  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's." 

We  must  here  drop  the  story  of  the  contentions  of  Pope  and 
Emperor  in  order  to  watch  the  peoples  of  Europe  as  at  the  time 
we  have  now  reached  they  undertake  with  surprising  unanimity 
and  enthusiasm  the  most  remarkable  enterprises  in  which  they 
were  ever  engaged, — the  Crusades,  or  Holy  Wars.  It  was  the 
prestige  which  the  Papacy  had  gained  in  its  contest  with  the  Em- 
pire which  enabled  the  popes  to  e.xert  such  an  influence  in  setting 
the  Crusades  in  motion  and  in  directing  them  ;  while  at  the  same 
time  it  was  these  enterprises  which,  reacting  upon  the  Papacy, 
greatly  aided  the  popes  in  realizing  Gregory's  ideal  of  making  the 
papal  authority  supreme  throughout  Western  Christendom. 

References.  Bryce,  J.,  The  Holy  Romav  Empire  (this  little  work  has  become 
a  classic).  Ad.\MS,  G.  B.,  Civilizalion  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chsi^.x.  Emer- 
TON,  E.,  Meditrval  Europe,  chaps,  vii  and  viii.  Alzog,  J.,  Universal  Church 
History,  vol.  ii,  pp.  253-336,  48 1-5 10.  Tout,  T.  F.,  The  Empire  and  the  Papacy. 
Vincent,  M.  R.,  The  Age  of  Ilildcbrand  (the  earlier  chapters).  Stephens, 
W.  R.  W.,  Hildebrand  and  his   Times. 


EUROPE  AJ^D  THE  ORIENT 
IN  1096 

On  the  eve  of  the  Crusades 

L_lt'hrlBil«ii  LaniIa(l«Un  Church)  I IMobamniudau  Lauds    /i 

r     ]ciirl«llaii  Lands^Orock  Church)  I         I  RegloiiB  atlll  TagaQ    (^ 


0                100              200              300 

400 

eoo 

1 

V 

Bcale  of  Miles 

TNI  y.-ll.WOIia,lUfr»i.O,  M.Y.              , 

I  ..--'"-.,-'■•'-. 

0° 

LoiiglUido 

Eant 

10"     from      ttieenwl 

CHAPTER  XLVI 

THE  CRUSADES 

(1096-1273) 

443.  The  Crusades  defined.  The  Crusades  were  great  military- 
expeditions  carried  on  intermittently  for  two  centuries  by  the 
Christian  peoples  of  Europe,  with  the  aim  of  rescuing  from  the 
hands  of  the  Mohammedans  the  holy  places  of  Palestine  and 
maintaining  in  the  East  a  Latin  kingdom.  Historians  usually 
enumerate  eight  of  these  expeditions  as  worthy  of  special  narra- 
tion. But  besides  these  there  were  a  children's  crusade  and  several 
other  expeditions,  which,  being  insignificant  in  numbers  or  results, 
are  not  usually  enumerated,  as  well  as  several  enterprises  in 
Europe  itself  which  partook  of  the  nature  of  crusades. 

444.  Causes  of  the  Crusades.  Among  the  early  Christians  it 
was  thought  a  pious  and  meritorious  act  to  undertake  a  journey 
to  some  sacred  place.  Especially  was  it  thought  that  a  pilgrimage 
to  the  land  whose  soil  had  been  pressed  by  the  feet  of  the  Saviour 
of  the  world,  to  the  Holy  City  that  had  witnessed  his  martyrdom, 
was  a  peculiarly  pious  undertaking,  and  one  which  secured  for 
the  pilgrim  the  special  favor  and  blessing  of  Heaven. 

The  Saracen  caliphs,  for  the  four  centuries  and  more  that  they 
held  possession  of  Palestine,  pursued  usually  an  enlightened  policy 
toward  the  pilgrims,  even  encouraging  pilgrimages  as  a  source  of 
revenue.  But  in  the  eleventh  century  the  Seljuk  Turks,  a  promi- 
nent Tatar  tribe,  zealous  proselytes  of  Islam,  wrested  Syria  from 
the  tolerant  Saracen  caliphs.  The  Christians  were  not  long  in 
realizing  that  power  had  fallen  into  new  hands.  Pilgrims  were 
insulted  and  persecuted  in  every  way.  The  churches  in  Jerusalem 
were,  in  some  cases,  destroyed  or  turned  into  stables. 

Now  if  it  were  a  meritorious  thing  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
Holy  Sepulcher,  much  more  would  it  be  a  pious  act  to  rescue  the 

309 


310  THE  CRUSADES  L§445 

sacred  spot  from  the  profanation  of  infidels.  This  was  the  con- 
viction that  changed  the  pilgrim  into  a  warrior, —  this  the  senti- 
ment that  for  two  centuries  and  more  stirred  the  Christian  world 
to  its  profoundest  depths  and  cast  the  population  of  Europe  in 
wave  after  wave  upon  Asia. 

Although  this  religious  feeling  was  the  principal  cause  of  the 
Crusades,  still  there  were  other  concurring  causes  which  must  not 
be  overlooked.  Among  these  was  the  restless,  adventurous  spirit 
of  the  Teutonic  peoples  of  Europe,  who  had  not  yet  outgrown  their 
barbarian  instincts.  The  feudal  knights  and  lords,  just  now  ani- 
mated by  the  rising  spirit  of  chivalry,  were  very  ready  to  enlist 
in  undertakings  so  in  keeping  with  their  martial  feelings  and 
their  new  vows  of  knighthood. 

445,  The  First  Crusade  (1096-1099);  Founding  of  the  Latin 
Kingdom  of  Jerusalem.  A  chief  immediate  inciting  cause  of  the 
First  Crusade  was  a  fervid  appeal  by  Pope  Urban  II  to  the  peoples 
of  Europe  to  undertake  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  from 
the  hands  of  the  unbelievers.  By  edict  the  Pope  granted  to  all 
who  should  enlist  from  right  motives  "remission  of  all  canonical 
penalties,"  and  promised  to  the  truly  penitent,  in  case  they  should 
die  on  the  expedition,  "the  joy  of  life  eternal."  Under  such  in- 
ducements princes  and  nobles,  bishops  and  priests,  monks  and 
anchorites,  saints  and  sinners,  rich  and  poor,  hastened  to  enroll 
themselves  beneath  the  standard  of  the  Cross.  The  expedition  is 
said  to  have  numbered  about  three  hundred  thousand  men. 

The  crusaders  traversed  Europe  by  different  routes  and  re- 
assembled at  Constantinople.  Crossing  the  Bosphorus,  they  first 
captured  Nicaea,  the  Turkish  capital  in  Bithynia,  and  then  set  out 
across  Asia  Minor  for  Syria.  The  line  of  their  dreary  march  was 
whitened  with  the  bones  of  nearly  one  half  their  number.  Arriv- 
ing at  Antioch,  the  survivors  captured  that  place,  and  then,  after 
considerable  delay,  pushed  on  to  Jerusalem,  which  was  taken 
by  storm. 

The  government  which  the  crusaders  established  for  the  city 
and  country  they  had  contjurred  was  a  model  feudal  state,  called 
the  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem.    At  its  head  was  placed  Godfrey 


§446]      RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  OF  KNIGHTHOOD  311 

of  Bouillon,  the  most  devoted  of  the  crusader  knights.  The  prince 
refused  the  title  and  vestments  of  royalty,  declaring  that  he  would 
never  wear  a  crown  of  gold  in  the  city  where  his  Lord  and  Master 
had  worn  a  crown  of  thorns.  The  only  title  he  would  accept  was 
that  of  "Baron  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher." 

Many  of  the  crusaders,  considering  their  vows  to  deliver  the 
Holy  City  as  now  fufilled,  soon  set  out  on  their  return  to  their 
homes,  some  making  their  way  back  by  sea  and  some  by  land. 

446.  Origin  of  the  Religious  Orders  of  Knighthood.  In  the 
interval  between  the  First  and  the  Second  Crusade,  the  two  famed 
religious  military  orders  known  as  the  Hospitalers  and  the  Tem- 
plars' were  formed.  A  little  later,  during  the  Third  Crusade,  still 
another  fraternity  known  as  the  Teutonic  Knights  was  established. 
The  objects  of  all  the  orders  were  the  care  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  crusaders,  the  entertainment  of  Christian  pilgrims,  the 
guarding  of  the  holy  places,  and  ceaseless  battling  for  the  Cross. 
These  fraternities  soon  acquired  a  military  fame  that  was  spread 
throughout  the  Christian  world.  They  were  joined  by  many  of  the 
most  illustrious  knights  of  the  West,  and  through  the  gifts  of  the 
pious  acquired  great  wealth  and  became  possessed  of  numerous 
estates  and  castles  in  Europe  as  well  as  in  Asia. 

447.  The  Third  Crusade-  (1189-1192) ;  Frederick  Barbarossa, 
Saladin,  and  Richard  the  Lion-Hearted.  The  Third  Cru- 
sade was  caused  by  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Saladin,  the 
renowned  sultan  of  Egypt.  This  event  occurred  in  the  year  1187. 
The  intelligence  of  the  disaster  caused  the  greatest  consternation 
and  grief  throughout  Christendom.  Three  of  the  great  sovereigns 
of  Europe,  Frederick  Barbarossa  of  Germany,  Philip  Augustus  of 

1  The  Hospitalers,  or  Knights  of  St.  John,  took  their  name  from  the  fact  that  the 
organization  was  first  formed  among  the  monks  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  while  the  Templars,  or  Knights  of  the  Temple,  were  so  called  because  of  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  buildings  of  the  brotherhood  occupied  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple. 
In  the  case  of  the  Hospitalers  it  was  monks  who  added  to  their  ordinary'  monastic  vows 
those  of  knighthood  ;  in  the  case  of  the  Templars  it  was  knights  who  added  to  their 
military  vows  those  of  religion.  Thus  were  united  the  seemingly  incongruous  ideals  of 
the  monk  and  the  knight. 

2  The  Second  Crusade  (1147-1149),  which  was  preached  by  St.  Bernard  of  Clair\'aux, 
an  eloquent  monk,  accomplished  nothing  of  importance. 


312  THE  CRUSADES  [§44S 

France,  and  Richard  I  of  England,  took  the  crusaders'  vow,  and  set 
out,  each  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  for  the  recovery  of  the 
Holy  City.  The  English  king,  Richard,  afterwards  given  the  title 
of  Cocur  de  Lion,  the  "Lion-Hearted,"  in  memory  of  his  heroic 
exploits  in  Palestine,  was  the  central  figure  among  the  Christian 
knights  of  this  crusade. 

The  Emperor  P>ederick,  essaying  with  his  army  the  overland 
route,  was  drowned  in  a  swollen  stream  in  Asia  Minor,  and  most 
of  the  survivors  of  his  army,  disheartened  by  the  loss  of  their 
leader,  soon  returned  to  Germany.  The  English  and  French  kings 
took  the  sea  route  and  finally  mustered  their  forces  in  Syria.  Philip 
quarreled  with  Richard  and  retired  from  the  war.  For  two  years 
Richard  contended  in  vain  with  Saladin,  a  knightly  and  generous 
antagonist  according  to  the  chroniclers,  for  possession  of  the  tomb 
of  Christ.  He  finally  concluded  with  him  a  favorable  truce  and 
then  set  out  for  home ;  but  while  traversing  Germany  in  disguise 
he  was  discovered  and  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  order  of 
Emperor  Henfy  VI,  who  was  his  political  enemy.  Henry  cast  his 
prisoner  into  a  dungeon  and  refused  to  release  him  without  an 
enormous  ransom,  which  was  paid  by  the  English  people. 

448.  The  Fourth  Crusade  (1202-1204);  Capture  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  Latins.  The  city  of  \'enice  was  the  rendezvous  of 
the  Fourth  Crusade.  It  was  made  up  largely  of  unscrupulous  ad- 
venturers and  the  marine  forces  of  Venice.  It  was  originally  aimed 
at  Egypt  but,  diverted  from  its  first  destination  by  sordid  interests, 
struck  Constantinople. 

The  outcome  of  the  crusade  was  the  capture  and  sack  of  Con- 
stantinople and  the  setting  up  of  a  Latin  prince,  Baldwin  of 
Flanders,  as  Emperor  of  the  East.  The  Empire  was  now  remodeled 
into  a  feudal  state  like  the  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem  established  by 
the  knights  of  the  First  Crusade.  Most  of  the  Greek  islands  and 
certain  of  the  shore  lands  of  the  old  Empire  were  given  to  Venice 
as  her  share  of  the  spoils. 

One  lamentable  consequence  of  the  crusaders'  act  was  the 
weakening  of  the  military  strength  of  the  capital.  For  a  thousand 
years  Constantinople  had  been  the  great  bulwark  of  Western 


§449]  THE  CHILDREN'S  CRUSADE  313 

civilization  against  Asiatic  barbarism.  Its  power  of  resistance  was 
now  broken,  with  momentous  consequences  for  Western  Christen- 
dom, as  we  shall  learn  later. 

The  Latin  Empire  of  Constantinople,  as  it  was  called,  lasted 
only  a  little  over  half  a  century  (1204-1261).  The  Greeks,  at 
the  end  of  this  period,  succeeded  in  regaining  the  throne,  which 
they  then  held  until  the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks 

in  1453- 

449.  The  Children's  Crusade  (1212).  During  the  interval 
between  the  Fourth  and  the  Fifth  Crusade  the  religious  enthusiasm 
that  had  so  long  agitated  the  men  of  Europe  came  to  fill  with 
unrest  the  children,  resulting  in  what  is  known  as  the  Children's 
Crusade. 

The  chief  preacher  of  this  crusade  was  a  child  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  a  French  peasant  lad,  who  became  persuaded  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  commanded  him  to  lead  a  crusade  of  children  to 
the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  The  children  became  wild  with 
excitement  and  flocked  in  vast  crowds  to  the  places  "appointed  for 
rendezvous.  Nothing  could  restrain  them  or  thwart  their  purpose. 
"Even  bolts  and  bars,"  says  an  old  chronicler,  "could  not  hold 
them."  The  great  majority  of  those  who  collected  at  the  rallying 
places  were  boys  under  twelve  years  of  age,  but  there  were  also 
many  girls. 

The  German  children  crossed  the  Alps  and  marched  down  the 
Italian  shores  looking  for  a  miraculous  pathway  through  the  sea 
to  Palestine.  Beneath  the  toil  and  hardships  of  the  journey  a 
great  part  of  the  little  crusaders  died  or  fell  out  by  the  way. 
Those  reaching  Rome  were  kindly  received  by  the  Pope,  who  per- 
suaded them  to  give  up  their  enterprise  and  return  to  their  homes. 

The  French  children,  numbering  thirty  thousand,  according  to 
the  chroniclers,  set  out  from  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  Mar- 
seilles. Arriving  there,  the  children  were  bitterly  disappointed  that 
the  sea  did  not  open  and  give  them  passage  to  Palestine.  The 
greater  part,  discouraged  and  disillusioned,  now  returned  home ; 
five  or  six  thousand,  however,  accepting  gladly  the  seemingly 
generous  offer  of  two  merchants  of  the  city,  who  proposed  to  take 


314  THE  CRUSADES  [§450 

them  to  the  Holy  Land  free  of  charge,  crowded  into  seven  spiall 
ships  and  sailed  out  of  the  port  of  Marseilles.  But  they  were 
betrayed,  and  the  most  of  them  were  sold  as  slaves  in  Alexandria 
and  other  IMohammedan  slave  markets. 

450.  The  Minor  Crusades;  End  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  last  four  expeditions — the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  and 
Eighth — undertaken  by  the  Christians  of  Europe  against  the 
infidels  of  the  East  may  be  conveniently  grouped  as  the  Minor 
Crusades.  They  were  marked  by  a  less  genuine  enthusiasm  than 
that  which  characterized  particularly  the  First  Crusade.  The 
flame  of  the  Crusades  had  burned  itself  out,  and  the  fate  of  the 
little  Christian  kingdom  in  Asia,  isolated  from  Europe  and  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  bitter  enemies,  became  each  day  more 
and  more  apparent.  Finally,  the  last  of  the  places  held  by  the 
Christians  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Moslems,  and  with  this 
event  the  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem  came  to  an  end  (1291). 
The  second  great  combat  between  Mohammedanism  and  Chris- 
tianity was  over,  and  "silence  reigned  along  the  shore  that  had 
so  long  resounded  with  the  world's  debate"  (Gibbon). 

45L  Crusades  in  Europe.  Notwithstanding  the  strenuous 
and  united  efforts  which  the  Christians  of  Europe  put  forth 
against  the  Mohammedans,  they  did  not  succeed  in  extending 
permanently  the  frontiers  of  Western  civilization  in  the  Orient. 

But  in  the  southwest  and  the  northeast  of  Europe  it  was  dif- 
ferent. Here  the  crusading  spirit  rescued  from  Moslem  and 
pagan  large  territories,  and  upon  these  regained  or  newly  acquired 
lands  established  a  number  of  little  Christian  principalities,  which 
later  grew  into  states,  or  came  to  form  a  portion  of  states,  which 
were  to  play  great  parts  in  the  history  of  the  following  centuries. 
The  states  whose  beginnings  arc  thus  connected  with  the  cru- 
sading age  are  Portugal,  Spain,  and  Prussia.  We  will  say  just  a 
single  word  respecting  each  of  them. 

452.  Crusades  against  the  Moors  in  the  Iberian  Peninsula. 
Just  before  the  actual  beginning  of  the  Crusades  against  the 
Moslems  of  the  East  a  band  of  Northern  knights  went  to  the  help 
of  the  Christians  against  the  Moslems  in  the  west  of  the  Iberian 


§453]    CRUSADES  BY  THE  TEUTONIC  KNIGHTS       315 

peninsula.    The  issue  of  this  chivalric  enterprise  was  the  formation 
of  a  little  state,  the  nucleus  of  the  later  kingdom  of  Portugal. 

Then,  during  all  the  time  that  the  Crusades  proper  were  going 
on  in  the  eastern  Mediterranean,  the  free  Christian  mountaineers 
of  northernmost  Spain,  who  had  already  formed  a  number  of  small 
principalities  (sect.  511),  were  engaged  in  almost  one  uninter- 
rupted crusade  against  the  Moslem  intruders.  By  the  middle  of 
the  thirteenth  century  the  Christians  had  crowded  the  ]\Ioors  into 
a  small  region  in  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula.  It  was  a 
group  of  the  little  Christian  states  whose  territories  were  thus 
enlarged  during  the  crusading  period  which  finally  coalesced  to 
form  the  modern  kingdom  of  Spain, 

453.  Crusades  by  the  Teutonic  Knights  against  the  Pagan 
Slavs  (1226-1283).  At  the  time  of  the  Crusades  all  the  Baltic 
shore  lands  lying  eastward  of  the  Vistula,  which  today  form  a 
part  of  Prussia,  were  held  by  pagan  Slavs.  Early  in  the  thirteenth 
century  some  knights  of  the  Teutonic  order  transferred  their 
crusading  efforts  to  these  Northern  heathen  lands.  For  the  greater 
part  of  the  century  the  knights  carried  on  a  desperate  and  almost 
continuous  war  of  extermination  against  the  pagans.  The  sur- 
rounding Slav  population  was  either  destroyed  or  subjected,  and 
the  whole  land  was  gradually  Germanized.  Thus  was  laid  the 
basis  of  a  principality  (the  Duchy  of  Prussia)  which  later  came 
to  form  an  important  part  of  modern  Prussia. 

454.  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses  (1209-1229).  During 
the  crusading  age  holy  wars  were  preached  and  waged  against 
heretics  as  well  as  against  infidels  and  pagans. 

In  the  south  of  France  was  a  sect  of  Christians  called  Albigenses, 
who  had  departed  so  far  from  the  orthodox  faith  that  Pope 
Innocent  III  declared  them  to  be  ''more  wicked  than  Saracens." 
He  therefore,  after  a  vain  endeavor  to  turn  them  from  their 
errors,  issued  a  call  for  a  crusade  against  them.  The  result  of  two 
crusades  was  the  devastation  of  a  great  part  of  Languedoc,  the 
beautiful  country  of  the  Albigenses,  and  the  slaughter  of  the  in- 
habitants. The  Albigensian  heresy  was  finally  wholly  extirpated 
by  the  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  which  was  set  up  in  the  country. 


3i6 


THE  CRUSADES 


[§455 


455.  Effects  upon  Civilization  of  the  Crusades.  The  indirect 
results  of  the  Crusades  were  many  and  far-reaching.  Through 
them  the  towns  gained  many  advantages  at  the  expense  of  the 
crusading  barons  and  princes.  Ready  money  in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  burgher  class, 
and  in  return  for  the  contributions  and  loans  they  made  to  their 
overlords  and  suzerains  they  received  charters  conferring  special 

and  valuable  privileges.  The  Holy 
Wars  further  promoted  the  prosperity 
of  the  towns  by  giving  a  great  impulse 
to  commercial  enterprise.  Particularly 
was  this  true  of  the  Italian  cities.  The 
^Mediterranean  was  whitened  with  the 
sails  of  their  transport  ships,  which 
were  constantly  plying  between  the 
various  ports  of  Europe  and  the  towns 
of  the  Syrian  coast. 

The  kings  also  gained  much  through 
the  Crusades.  Many  of  the  nobles  who 
set  out  on  the  expeditions  never  re- 
turned, and  their  estates,  through  fail- 
ure of  heirs,  escheated  to  the  crown ; 
while  many  more  wasted  their  fortunes 
in  meeting  the  expenses  of  their  under- 
taking. Thus  the  nobility  was  greatly  weakened,  and  the  power 
and  patronage  of  the  kings  correspondingly  increased. 

Again,  the  effects  of  the  Crusades  upon  the  social  and  industrial 
life  of  the  Western  nations  were  marked  and  important.  Giving 
opportunity  for  romantic  adventure,  they  were  one  of  the  chief 
fostering  influences  of  chivalry  ;  while,  by  bringing  the  rude  peoples 
of  the  West  in  contact  with  the  culture  of  the  East,  they  exerted 
upon  them  a  general  refining  influence.  Also,  various  arts,  manu- 
factures, and  inventions  (among  these  the  windmill'  and  probably 


Fig.  89.  A  MiiUbEVAL 
WiXDMiLL.  (From  an  en- 
graving of  an  abbey  and  its 
precincts,  dating  from  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century) 


J  Windmills  were  chiefly  utilized  in  the  Netherlands,  where  they  were  used  to  pump 
the  water  from  the  ovcrsoaked  lands,  and  thus  became  the  means  of  creating  the  most 
important  part  of  what  is  now  the  kingdom  of  Holland. 


§455]  REFERENXES  317 

the  mariner's  compass)  before  unknown  in  Europe  were  at  this 
time  introduced  from  Asia,  and  contributed  to  enrich  and  develop 
the  industrial  life  of  the  European  peoples.  Furthermore,  the 
knowledge  of  oriental  or  Graeco-Arabic  science  and  learning  gained 
by  the  crusaders  through  their  expeditions  greatly  stimulated  the 
Latin  intellect  and  helped  to  awaken  in  western  Europe  that 
mental  activity  which  resulted  finally  in  the  great  intellectual 
outburst  known  as  the  Renaissance. 

Lastly,  the  incentive  given  to  geographical  exploration  led 
various  travelers,  such  as  the  celebrated  Venetian  Marco  Polo,  to 
range  over  the  most  remote  countries  of  Asia.^  Nor  did  the  matter 
end  here.  Even  that  spirit  of  maritime  enterprise  and  adventure 
which  rendered  illustrious  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  inspiring 
the  voyages  of  Columbus,  Vasco  da  Gama,  and  Magellan,  may  be 
traced  back  to  that  lively  interest  in  geographical  matters  awak- 
ened by  the  expeditions  of  the  crusaders. 

These  various  growths  and  movements,  commercial,  social,  polit- 
ical, intellectual,  and  geographical,  in  European  society,  which 
though  not  originated  by  the  Crusades  were  nevertheless  given  a 
fresh  impulse  by  them,  we  shall  trace  out  in  following  chapters. 

References.  Burr,  G.  L.,  The  Year  1000  and  the  Antecedents  of  the  Cru- 
sades (in  American  Historical  Review  for  April,  igor,  vol.  vi,  No.  3  ;  shows  the 
unhistorical  character  of  the  tradition  of  the  "millennial  terror").  Archer, 
T.  A.,  and  Kingsford,  C.  L.,  The  Crusades.  Cox,  G.  W.,  The  Cntsades. 
Emerton,  E.,  I\Iedi(rval  Europe,  chap.  xi.  Adams,  G.  B.,  Cii'ilizaiioft  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  xi.  Michatd,  J.  F.,  History  0/  the  Crusades,  3  vols, 
(very  interesting,  but  in  part  discredited  through  a  new  appraisement  of  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  sources  for  the  Crusades).  Pears,  E.,  The  Fall  of 
Constantinople  (the  best  account  of  the  Fourth  Crusade).  Gray,  G.  Z.,  The 
Children's  Crusade.  Lane-Poole,  S.,  Saladin  and  the  Tall  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Jerusalem. 

1  Colonel  Ilenr)'  Yule,  speaking  of  the  influence  of  the  travels  and  \vritint;s  of  Marco 
Polo,  says:  "The  spur  which  his  book  eventually  gave  to  geographical  studies,  and  the 
beacon  which  it  hung  out  at  the  eastern  extremities  of  the  earth,  helped  to  guide  the 
aims  ...  of  the  greater  son  of  the  rival  republic.  His  work  was  at  least  a  link  in 
the  providential  chain  which  at  last  dragged  the  New  World  to  light." — Introduction 
to  The  Book  of  Scr  Marco  Polo  (London,  1875). 


CHAPTER  XLVII 

SUPREMACY  OF  THE  PAPACY;    DECLINE  OF  ITS 
TEMPORAL  POWER 

456.  Preliminary  Survey;  the  Papacy  at  its  Height.  In  an 
earlier  chapter  on  the  Empire  and  the  Papacy  we  related  the  begin- 
nings of  the  contention  for  supremacy  between  Pope  and  Emperor. 
In  the  present  chapter  we  shall  first  speak  of  the  Papacy  at  the 
height  of  its  power,  and  then  tell  how,  as  the  popes,  with  the  Em- 
pire ruined,  seemed  about  to  realize  their  ideal  of  a  universal  eccle- 
siastical and  secular  monarchy,  their  temporal  power  was  shattered 
by  a  new  opposing  force, —  the  rising  nations. 

457.  Pope  Alexander  III  and  Emperor  Frederick  Bar- 
barossa.  A  little  after  the  settlement  known  as  the  Concordat  of 
Worms  (sect.  442)  the  first  of  the  House  of  Hohenstaufen  came 
to  the  German  throne,  and  then  began  a  sharp  contention,  lasting, 
with  intervals  of  strained  peace,  for  more  than  a  century,  between 
the  emperors  of  this  proud  family  and  the  successive  occupants 
of  the  papal  chair.  We  can  here  do  no  more  than  simply  note 
the  issue  of  the  quarrel  in  so  far  as  it  concerned  Pope  Alexan- 
der HI  and  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  the  crusader.  After  maintaining  the  contest  for  many 
years  Frederick,  vanquished  and  humiliated,  was  constrained 
humbly  to  seek  reconciliation  at  the  feet  of  the  pontiff  (1177). 
That  was  for  the  imperial  power  its  second  Canossa.  Precisely 
one  hundred  years  had  passed  since  the  hke  humiliation  of 
Emperor  Henry  IV  (sect.  441). 

458.  Pope  Innocent  III  and  Philip  Augustus  of  France. 
When  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  self-reliant  of  all  the  em- 
perors after  Charlemagne  was  forced  thus  to  bow  before  the  papal 
throne,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  the  kings  of  the  different 
countries  of  Europe  subjecting  themselves  obediently  to  the  same 

.3'.S 


§459]  POPE  INNOCENT  III  319 

all-pervading  authority.  French  and  English  history,  of  the  period 
covered  by  the  pontificate  of  Innocent  III,  each  affords  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  subject  relation  which  the  sovereigns  of  Europe 
had  come  to  sustain  to  the  Papal  See. 

The  French  throne  was  at  this  time  held  by  Philip  Augustus 
( 1 180-12 23).  On  some  pretext  Philip  had  put  away  his  wife 
and  entered  into  another  marriage  alliance.  Pope  Innocent  III, 
as  the  censor  of  the  morals  of  kings  as  well  as  of  the  morals  of 
their  subjects,  commanded  him  to  take  back  his  discarded  queen, 
and  upon  his  refusal  to  do  so,  laid  France  under  an  interdict. 
Philip  was  finally  constrained  to  yield  obedience  to  the  Pope  and 
undo  the  wrong  he  had  done. 

This  triumph  of  the  Papal  See  over  so  strong  and  imperious  a 
sovereign  has  been  pronounced  "the  proudest  trophy  in  the 
scutcheon  of  Rome." 

459.  Pope  Innocent  III  and  King  John  of  England.  The 
story  of  Innocent's  triumph  over  King  John  (i  199-12 16)  of  Eng- 
land is  familiar.  The  see  of  Canterbury  falling  vacant,  John  or- 
dered the  monks  who  had  the  right  of  election  to  give  the  place 
to  a  favorite  of  his.  They  obeyed;  but  the  Pope  immediately 
declared  the  election  void,  and  caused  the  vacancy  to  be  filled 
with  one  of  his  own  friends,  Stephen  Langton.  John  declared 
that  Langton  should  never  enter  England  as  primate,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  confiscate  the  estates  of  the  see.  Innocent  now  laid  all 
England  under  an  interdict,  excommunicated  John,  and  incited 
the  French  king,  Philip  Augustus,  to  undertake  a  crusade  against 
the  contumacious  rebel. 

The  outcome  of  the  matter  was  that  John  was  compelled  to 
yield  to  the  power  of  the  Church.  He  gave  back  the  lands  he  had 
confiscated,  acknowledged  Langton  to  be  the  rightful  primate  of 
England,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  give  England  and  Ireland  to 
the  Pope,  receiving  them  back  as  a  perpetual  fief  ( 12 13) .  In  token 
of  his  vassalage  he  agreed  to  pay  to  the  Papal  See  the  annual 
sum  of  one  thousand  marks  sterling.  This  tribute  money  was 
actually  paid,  though  irregularly,  until  the  reign  of  Edward  III 
(sect.  463). 


320  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  PAPACY  [§460 

460.  The  Mendicant  Orders,  or  Begging  Friars/  The  imme- 
diate successors  of  Innocent  III  found  a  strong  support  for  their 
authority  in  two  new  monastic  orders  known  as  the  Domini- 
can and  the  Franciscan.  They  were  so  named  after  their  re- 
spective founders,  St.  Dominic  (i  170-122 1)  and  St.  Francis 
(about  1 182-1226).  Speaking  in  general  terms,  until  now  the 
monk  had  sought  cloistral  solitude  primarily  in  order  to  escape 
from  the  world  and  to  work  out  his  own  salvation.  In  the  new 
orders  the  members  instead  of  withdrawing  from  the  world  were 
to  remain  in  it  and  give  themselves  wholly  to  the  work  of  securing 
the  salvation  of  others. 

Again,  the  orders  were  also  as  orders  to  renounce  all  earthly 
possessions,  and,  "espousing  Poverty  as  a  bride,"  to  rely  entirely 
for  support  upon  the  daily  and  voluntary  alms  of  the  pious.- 
Hitherto,  while  the  individual  members  of  a  monastic  order  must 
espouse  extreme  poverty,  the  house  or  fraternity  might  possess 
any  amount  of  communal  wealth.  But  in  the  new  orders  "the 
brethren  must  be  as  poor  as  the  brother." 

There  was  at  first  a  wide  difference  between  the  two  fraternities. 
St.  Francis  and  the  disciples  whom  his  boundless  self-sacrificing 
charity  drew  about  him  devoted  themselves,  in  imitation  of  Christ 
and  the  apostles,  to  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  poor  and  outcast 
and  to  visiting  those  who  were  sick  and  in  prison.  St.  Dominic 
made  his  appeal  to  the  higher  and  cultured  class.  He  conceived 
his  mission  to  be  the  combating  of  heresy,  with  which  the  intel- 
lectual ferment  of  the  times  had  begun  to  fill  Christendom. 

The  new  fraternities  grew  and  spread  with  marvelous  rapidity, 
and  in  less  than  a  generation  they  had  quite  overshadowed  all 
the  old  monastic  orders  of  the  Church.  The  popes  conferred 
upon  them  many  and  special  privileges.  They  in  turn  became 
the  stanchest  friends  and  supporters  of  the  Roman  See.  They 
were  to  the  Papacy  of  the  thirteenth  century  what  the  Benedictines 

'  VTom  fratres,  frhr!:,  brethren. 

2  The  friars  soon  came  to  interpret  their  vow  of  poverty  more  liberally,  and  believed 
that  they  met  its  obligations  when  they  put  the  title  of  the  property  they  acquired 
in  the  hands  of  the  Pope,  while  they  themselves  simply  enjoyed  the  use  of  it.  The 
new  fraternities  grew  in  time  to  be  among  the  richest  of  the  monastic  orders. 


§461]  THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  NATIONS  321 

were  to  the  early  Papacy  or  what  the  later  Order  of  the  Jesuits 
was  to  the  papal  Church  of  the  Reformation  era  (sect.  566). 

461.  The  Revolt  of  the  Nations.  The  fourteenth  century 
marks  the  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  temporal  power  of 
the  Papacy.  In  the  course  of  that  century  France,  Germany,  and 
England  successively  revolted  against  the  Roman  See  and  formally 
denied  the  right  of  the  Pope  to  interfere  in  their  political  or  gov- 
ernmental affairs.  But  it  should  be  carefully  noted  that  the 
leaders  of  this  revolt  against  the  secular  domination  of  the  Papacy 
did  not  think  of  challenging  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Pope  as 
the  supreme  head  of  the  Church.  Their  attitude  was  wholly  like 
that  of  the  Italians  of  our  own  day,  who,  while  dispossessing  the 
Pope  of  the  last  remnant  of  his  temporal  sovereignty,  abate  noth- 
ing of  their  veneration  for  him  as  the  \' icar  of  God  in  all  things 
moral  and  spiritual  (sect.  858). 

462.  Pope  Boniface  VIII  and  Philip  the  Fair  of  France.  It 
was  during  the  pontificate  of  Boniface  VIII  (i 294-1 303)  that  the 
secular  authority  of  the  popes  received  a  severe  blow  and  began 
rapidly  to  decline.  In  the  year  1296  Boniface  issued  a  bull  in 
which,  under  pain  of  excommunication,  he  forbade  all  ecclesias- 
tical persons,  without  papal  permission,  to  pay  taxes  in  any  form 
levied  by  lay  rulers.  All  civil  rulers  of  whatsoever  name — baron, 
duke,  prince,  king,  or  emperor — who  should  presume  to  impose 
upon  ecclesiastics  taxes  of  any  kind  were  also  to  incur  the  same 
sentence. 

Philip  of  France  regarded  the  papal  claims  as  an  encroachment 
upon  the  civil  authority.  The  contention  between  him  and  the 
Pope  speedily  grew  into  a  bitter  and  undignified  quarrel.  In  one 
of  his  letters  to  Boniface,  Philip  addressed  the  pontiff  in  words  of 
unseemly  and  studied  rudeness.  Philip  was  bold  because  he  knew 
that  his  people  were  with  him.  The  popular  feeling  was  given 
expression  in  a  famous  States-General  which  the  king  summoned 
in  1302,  and  in  another  called  together  the  next  year.  The  three 
estates  of  the  realm  —  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  the  commons-- 
declared  that  the  Pope  had  no  authority  in  France  in  civil 
matters;  that  the  French  king  had  no  superior  save  God. 


322  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  PAPACY  [§463 

463.  Removal  of  the  Papal  Seat  to  Avignon;  Revolt  of  Ger- 
many and  England.  Only  a  few  years  after  this,  through  the  con- 
currence of  various  influences,  the  papal  seat  was  removed  from 
Rome  to  Avignon,  in  Provence,  adjoining  the  frontier  of  France. 
Here  it  remained  for  a  space  of  nearly  seventy  years  (1309-1376), 
an  era  known  in  Church  history  as  the  "Babylonian  Captivity." 
While  it  was  established  here  all  the  popes  were  Frenchmen  and 
their  policies  were  largely  dictated  by  the  French  kings.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  was  but  natural  that  outside  of  France  there 
should  be  stirred  up  a  more  and  more  angry  protest  against  the 
interference  of  the  popes  in  civil  matters.  The  measures  taken 
at  this  time  by  Germany  and  England,  in  both  of  which  countries 
a  national  sentiment  was  springing  up,  show  how  completely  the 
Papacy  had  lost  prestige  as  an  international  power. 

In  1338  the  German  princes,  with  whom  rested  the  right  of 
electing  the  German  king,  in  opposing  the  papal  claims  declared 
that  the  German  Emperor  derived  all  his  powers  from  God  through 
them  and  not  from  the  Pope.  The  German  Diet  indorsed  this 
declaration,  and  the  principle  that  the  German  Emperor,  as  to 
his  election  and  the  exercise  of  his  functions,  is  independent  of 
the  Papal  See  became  from  that  time  forward  a  part  of  the 
German  constitution. 

A  little  later  (in  1366),  during  the  reign  of  Edward  HI,  the 
English  Parliament,  acting  in  a  like  spirit  and  temper,  put  an  end 
to  English  vassalage  to  Rome  by  formally  refusing  to  pay  the 
tribute  pledged  by  King  John '  and  by  repudiating  wholly  the 
claims  of  the  popes  upon  England  as  a  fief  of  the  Holy  See.- 

464,  The  Papacy  remains  a  Spiritual  Theocracy.  After  the 
events  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  Roman  pontiffs  were  never 
able  to  exercise  such  authority  over  the  kings  of  Europe,  or  exact 

1  Sec  sect  459.   The  payment  of  this  tribute  had  fallen  in  arrears. 

2  Another  disastrous  result  to  the  Papacy  of  the  Babylonian  exile  was  the  discontent 
created  among  the  Italians  by  the  situation  of  the  papal  court,  which  led  to  an  open  rup- 
ture between  them  and  the  papal  party.  In  137S  the  opposing  factions  each  elected 
a  Pope,  and  thus  there  were  two  heads  of  the  Church,  one  at  Avignon  and  another 
at  Rome.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  Great  Schism  (i3;8-i4i7).  A  generation 
passed  before  the  Catholic  world  was  again  united  under  a  single  spiritual  head. 


§464]     THE  PAPACY  A  SPIRITUAL  THEOCRACY        323 

from  them  such  obedience  in  civil  affairs,  as  had  been  possible 
for  the  popes  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  The  splendid 
ideal  of  Hildebrand,  though  so  nearly  realized,  had  at  last,  as  to 
one  half  of  what  he  purposed,  proved  an  utter  failure. 

We  say  that  the  Roman  pontiffs  failed  as  to  one  half  of  their  pur- 
pose ;  for  while  they  failed  to  make  good  their  supremacy  in  tem- 
poral affairs,  they  did  succeed  in  establishing  and  perpetuating  an 
absolute  spiritual  dominion,  their  plenary  authority  in  all  matters 
of  faith  being  today  acknowledged  by  more  than  one  half  of  all 
those  who  bear  the  name  of  Christian. 

And  so  the  Papacy,  though  its  temporal  power  has  been 
entirely  taken  from  it,  and  its  spiritual  authority  rejected  in  gen- 
eral by  the  Northern  nations,  still  remains,  as  Macaulay  says, 
"not  in  decay,  not  a  mere  antique,  but  full  of  life  and  youthful 
vigor."  The  Pope  is  today,  in  the  view  of  a  great  section  of 
Christendom,  the  infallible  head  of  a  Church  that,  in  the  famous 
words  of  the  brilliant  writer  just  quoted,  "was  great  and  respected 
before  the  Saxon  had  set  foot  on  Britain,  before  the  Frank  had 
passed  the  Rhine,  when  Grecian  eloquence  still  flourished  in 
Antioch,  when  idols  were  still  worshiped  in  the  temple  of  Mecca. 
And  she  may  still  exist  in  undiminished  vigor  when  some  traveler 
from  New  Zealand  shall,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  solitude,  take  his 
stand  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge  to  sketch  the  ruins 
of  St.  Paul's." 

References.  Bryce,  J.,  The  Holy  Roman  Empire,  chaps,  xi  and  xiii.  Pastor, 
L.,  The  History  of  the  Popes,  vol.  i  (Catholic).  Emerton,  E.,  Medurval  Europe, 
sections  of  chaps,  ix  and  x.  Barry,  \V.,  The  Papal  Motiarchy,  chaps,  xviii-xxv. 
Balzani,  U.,  The  Popes  and  the  Hohenstaufen.  Tout,  T.  F.,  The  Empire  and 
the  Papacy,  chaps,  xi,  xiv,  xvi,  and  xxi.  Sabatier,  P.,  Life  of  St.  Erancis  of 
Assist  (a  book  of  genius  and  spiritual  insight).  The  I\[irror  of  Perfectio7i  (ed. 
by  Paul  Sabatier).  This  is  the  life  of  .St.  Francis  written  by  a  companion  and 
disciple.  It  is  a  wonderful  story  simply  and  lovingly  told.  Crf.ichton,  M., 
History  of  the  Papacy,  vol.  i,  "The  Great  Schism;  the  Council  of  Constance." 
Jessopp,  a.,  The  Coining  of  the  Eriars. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 
TURANIAN  CONQUESTS ;  MONGOLS  AND  TURKS 

465.  The  Huns  and  the  Hungarians.  The  Huns,  of  whom  we 
have  already  told,  were  the  first  Turanians^  that  during  historic 
times  pushed  their  way  in  among  the  peoples  of  Europe  (sect.  332). 

The  next  Turanian  invaders  of  Europe  that  we  need  here  notice 
were  the  Magyars,  or  Hungarians,  another  branch  of  the  Hunnic 
race,  who  in  the  ninth  century  of  our  era  succeeded  in  thrusting 
themselves  far  into  the  continent,  and  establishing  there  the 
important  kingdom  of  Hungary.  These  intruders  soon  adopted 
the  manners,  customs,  and  religion  (though  not  the  language)  of 
the  peoples  about  them  —  became,  in  a  word,  Europeanized,  and 
for  a  long  time  were  the  main  defense  of  Christian  Europe  against 
the  Turkish  tribes  of  the  same  race  that  broke  into  the  continent 
on  the  southeast  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

466.  The  Mongols.  Two  centuries  and  more  after  the  intrusion 
of  the  Hungarians  into  Europe,  the  Mongols,  or  Tatars,  cruel 
and  untamed  nomads  bred  on  the  steppes  of  central  and  eastern 
Asia,  that  nursery  of  concjuering  races,  began  to  set  up  a  new 
dominion  among  the  various  tribes  of  Mongolia.  Their  first  great 
chieftain  was  Jenghi/  Khan  (1206-122 7),  the  most  terrible 
scourge  that  ever  afflicted  the  human  race.  At  the  head  of  in- 
numerable hordes  composed  largely  of  Turkish  tribes,  callous  and 
pitiless  in  their  slaughterings  as  though  their  victims  belonged  to 
another  species  than  themselves,  Jenghiz  traversed  with  sword  and 
torch  a  great  part  of  Asia.  He  conquered  all  the  northern  part 
of  China,  and  then  turning  westward  overran  Turkestan  and 
Persia.    Cities  disappeared  as  he  advanced ;  populous  plains  were 

'  This  term  is  used  to  designate  the  northern  branch  (Finns,  Huns,  Hungarians,  Mon- 
gols or  Tatars,  Turks,  etc.)  of  the  Mongolian  race.  .Some  of  these  nations  have  been 
greatly  modified  through  intermixture  with  Caucasians  on  the  west  or  with  Chinese  on 
the  southeast ;  but  all  show  their  kinship  in  their  language. 

3^4 


§466] 


THE  MONGOLS 


125 


transformed  into  silent  deserts.  Before  death  overtook  him  he  had 
extended  his  authority  to  the  Dnieper  in  Russia  and  to  the  valley 
of  the  Indus.  Even  in  death  he  claimed  his  victims :  at  his  tomb 
forty  maidens  were  slain  that  their  spirits  might  go  to  serve  him 
in  the  other  world. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  the  later  Mongol  chieftains  was  Kublai 
Khan  (12  59- 12 94),  who  made  Cambalu,  the  modern  Peking,  his 


Fig.  90.    Hl't-Wago.n  of  the  Medi.i^val  T.\tars.   (From  Yule's 
BooA  of  Ser  Marco  Polo) 

The  wandering  Scyths  who  dwell 

In  latticed  huts  high-poised  on  easy  wheels. 

.KscHYLUS,  From.  Vinci.,  709-710  ;  quoted  by  Vule 


royal  seat,  and  there  received  ambassadors  and  visitors  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  It  was  at  the  court  of  this  prince  that  the 
celebrated  Italian  traveler  INIarco  Polo  resided  many  years  and 
gained  that  valuable  and  quickening  knowledge  of  the  Far  East 
which  he  communicated  to  Europe  in  his  remarkable  work  of 
travels  and  observations. 

Upon  the  death  of  Kublai  Khan  the  immoderately  extended 
and  loosely  knit  empire  fell  into  disorder  and  separated  into 
many  petty  states.  It  was  restored  by  Timur,  or  Tamerlane 
(1369-1405),  a  remote  relative  of  Jenghiz  Khan.  His  dominions 
came  to  embrace  a  great  part  of  Asia. 


326 


TURANIAN  CONQUESTS 


[§466 


Timur's  iriimense  empire  crumbled  to  pieces  after  his  death. 
His  descendant  Baber  invaded  India  (1525)  and  established 
there  what  became  known  as  the  Kingdom  of  the  Great  Moguls. 
This  IMongol  state  lasted  over  two  hundred  years, — until  de- 
stroyed in  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  Persians  and  the  English. 
The  magnificence  of  the  court  of  the  Great  Moguls  at  Delhi 
and  Agra  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  traditions  of  the  East. 


Fig.  91.    The  Taj  Mahal  at  AciUA.   (From  a  photograph) 

This  magnificent  monument  was  erected  by  the  Mogul  emperor  Shah  Jehan  (1628-1658), 
for  a  favorite  wife  who  died  in  1631 


Asia  has  never  recovered  from  the  terrible  devastation  wrought 
by  the  Mongol  conquerors.  Many  districts  swarming  with  life 
were  swept  clean  of  their  population  by  these  destroyers  of  the 
race  and  have  remained  to  this  day  desolate  as  the  tomb.  But  it 
is  the  relation  of  the  Mongol  eruption  to  the  history  of  the  West 
that  chiefly  concerns  us  at  present.  This  revolution  had  signifi- 
cance for  European  history  almost  solely  on  account  of  the  Mon- 
gols having  hiid  the  yoke  of  their  power  for  a  long  time  —  for 
about  three  centuries  —  upon  the  Eastern  Slavs.  This  was  some 
such  calamity  for  Russia  as  the  later  conquests  of  the  Ottoman 
Turks  were  for  the  lands  of  southeastern  Europe. 


§467]     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  OTTOMAN  POWER       327 

467.  The  Beginnings  of  the  Ottoman'  Empire.  The  latest, 
most  permanent,  and  most  important  historically  of  all  the 
Turanian  sovereignties  was  that  established  by  the  Ottoman  Turks. 
The  nucleus  of  this  great  empire  was  a  little  state  set  up  in  Asia 
Minor  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  by  a  band  of 
Turkish  warriors.  Gradually  the  Ottoman  princes  subjected  to 
their  rule  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  at  the  same  time  seized 
upon  province  after  province  of  the  Asiatic  possessions  of  the 
Byzantine  emperors.  During  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth 
century  a  large  part  of  the  regions  that  came  to  be  known  as 
Turkey  in  Europe  fell  into  their  hands. 

468.  The  Janizaries.  The  conquests  of  the  Turks  were  greatly 
aided  by  a  remarkably  efficient  body  of  soldiers  known  as  the 
Janizaries,  which  was  organized  early  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
This  select  corps  was  composed  at  first  of  the  fairest  children  of 
Christian  captives,  who  were  brought  up  in  the  Mohammedan 
faith.  When  war  ceased  to  furnish  recruits,  the  sultans  levied  a 
tribute  of  children  on  their  Christian  subjects.  At  one  time  this 
tribute  amounted  to  two  thousand  boys  yearly.  This  method  of 
recruiting  the  corps  was  maintained  for  about  three  centuries. 

469.  The  Fall  of  Constantinople  (1453).  The  fall  of  Con- 
stantinople was  delayed  for  a  time  by  the  attacks  of  the  Mongols 
upon  the  Ottomans  in  Asia.  But  finally,  in  the  year  1453,  Moham- 
med II  the  Great  laid  siege  to  the  capital  with  a  vast. army  and 
fleet.  After  a  short  investment  the  place  was  taken  by  storm.  Of 
the  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  of  the  capital  many  thousands 
were  slain  and  above  fifty  thousand  made  slaves.  The  Cross  on 
the  dome  of  St.  Sophia  was  replaced  by  the  Crescent. 

Thus  fell  New  Rome  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians  of  the 
East  almost  an  exact  millennium  after  Old  Rome  had  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  barbarians  of  the  West.  Its  fall  was  one 
of  the  most  harrowing  and  fate-laden  events  in  history.  As 
Mohammed,  like  Scipio  at  Carthage,  gazed  upon  the  ruined  city 
and  the  empty  palace  of  Constant ine,  he  is  said,  impressed  by  the 

1  From  Othman  I  (12SS-1326).  or  Osman,  whence  not  only  "  Ottoman,'"  but  "  Osman- 
lis,"  the  favorite  name  which  the  Turks  apply  to  themselves. 


328 


TURANIAN  CONQUESTS 


[§469 


mutability  of  fortune,  to  have  repeated  musingly  the  lines  of  the 
Persian  poet  Firdusi:  "The  spider's  web  is  the  curtain  in  Caesar's 
palace;  the  owl  is  the  sentinel  on  the  watchtower  of  Afrasiab."^ 
The  Turks  have  ever  remained  quite  insensible  to  the  influences 
of  European  civilization.  They  were  always  looked  upon  as  in- 
truders in  Europe,  and  their  presence  there  led  to  several  of  the 


The  EiMi'iKE  of  the  Ottoman  Turks  ai-.out  1464 

most  sanguinary  wars  of  modern  times.  Gradually  they  were 
pushed  out  from  practically  all  their  European  possessions  and 
driven  back  across  the  Bosphorus,  just  as  the  Moslem  Moors  were 
expelled  from  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  continent  by  the 
Christian  chivalry  of  Spain. 

References.  The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  2  vols,  (trans,  by  Henry  Yule  ;  new 
ed.  revised  by  Henri  Cordier).  The  best  part  of  these  volumes  is  condensed 
in  Noah  Brooks'  The  Story  of  Marco  Polo.  HowoRXii,  H.  H.,  History  of  the 
Mongols  frojti  the  A^inth  to  the  Nineteenth  Centmy,  3  parts  (the  best  and  most 
comprehensive  work  on  the  subject).  Creasy,  E.  S.,  History  of  the  Ottoman 
Turks,  vol.  i,  chaps  i-vi.  GinBON,  K.,  The  Decline  and  Fall,  chaps.  Ixiv-l.wiii. 
Mijatovich,  C,  Coiistantine  the  Last  Etnpcjvr  of  the  Giccks  ;  or  the  Conquest 
of  Constatttinople  by  the  Turks,  A.D.  14JJ  (the  best  account  in  English). 
Poole,  S.  L.,  The  Stoiy  of  Turkey,  chaps,  i-vii.  Freeman,  E.  A.,  IVic  Ottoman 
Po'uier  in  Europe,  chaps,  i-iv.  Wei.I.s,  H.  C].,  The  Outline  of  History,  vol.  ii, 
chap.  XXXV. 


1  Afrasiab  is  the  name  of  a  personage  who  figures  in  the  historical   legends  of 
Persia. 


CHAPTER  XLIX 
THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWNS 

470.  Rapid  Development  of  the  Cities  in  the  Tenth  and 
Eleventh  Centuries.  The  old  Roman  towns,  as  points  of  attack 
and  defense,  suffered  much  during  the  period  of  the  barbarian 
invasions.  When  the  storm  had  passed,  many  of  the  once  strong- 
walled  towns  lay  "rings  of  ruins"  on  the  wasted  plains.  But  it 
was  not  alone  the  violence  of  the  destroyers  of  the  Empire  that 
brought  so  many  cities  to  ruin ;  what  chiefly  caused  their  depopu- 
lation and  decay  was  the  preference  of  the  barbarians  for  the  open 
country  to  the  city.  Up  to  the  eleventh  century  the  population  of 
Europe  was  essentially  a  rural  population  like  that  of  Russia  today. 

But  just  as  soon  as  the  invaders  had  settled  down  and  civiliza- 
tion had  begun  to  revive,  the  towns  began  gradually  to  assume 
somewhat  of  their  former  importance.  During  the  tenth  century 
western  Europe,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  terribly  troubled  by  the 
Northmen,  the  Hungarians,  and  the  Saracens  (sect.  418).  There 
being  no  strong  central  government,  the  cities,  thrown  upon  their 
own  resources  for  defense,  armed  their  militia,  and  above  all  else 
surrounded  themselves  with  walls.  Strong  walls  were  the  only 
sure  protection  in  those  evil  times.  Thus  Europe  became  thick- 
set with  strong-walled  cities,  the  counterpart  of  the  castles  of  the 
feudal  lords,  which  were  the  defense  of  the  countr\'side. 

471.  The  Industrial  Life  of  the  Towns;  the  Gilds.  The 
towns  were  the  workshops  of  the  later  IMiddle  Ages.  The  most 
noteworthy  characteristics  of  their  industrial  life  are  connected 
with  certain  corporations  or  fraternities  known  as  gilds.  There 
were  two  chief  classes  of  these,  the  merchant  gild  and  the  craft 
gilds.  The  members  of  the  merchant  gild,  speaking  generally, 
were  the  chief  landowners  and  traders  of  the  place.  The  craft 
gilds  were  unions  of  the  shoemakers,  the  bakers,  the  weavers,  the 

3-9 


330 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWNS 


L§472 


spinners,  the  dyers,  the  millers,  and  so  on  to  the  end.    In  some 
cities  there  were  upwards  of  lifty  of  these  associations. 

The  internal  history  of  the  towns  during  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  is  very  largely  the  story  of  the  gilds  in  their 
manifold  activities.  This  story,  however,  it  is  impossible  to  give 
even  in  outline  in  our  short  space.    We  must  content  ourselves 


^^m<>y^y>M^:^;_ 


Fir;.  92.   Tiiic  A.mi'ihtiiicatek.  at  Arles  in  Mediaeval  Times 

The  amphitheater  was  made  a  fortress,  packed  with  houses,  in  the  eighth  century,  on 
account  of  Saracen  incursions.  — Justin  H.  Smith 

with  having  merely  indicated  the  place  of  these  interesting 
and  important  fraternities  in  the  life  of  the  mediaeval  towns. 
472.  The  Hanseatic'  League.  When,  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries,  the  towns  of  northern  Europe  began  to  extend 
their  commercial  connections,  the  greatest  drawback  to  their  trade 
was  the  insecurity  and  disorder  that  everywhere  prevailed.  The 
trader  who  intrusted  his  goods  to  the  overland  routes  was  in  danger 
of  losing  them  at  the  hands  of  the  robber  nobles,  who  watched  all 
the  lines  of  travel  and  either  robbed  the  merchant  outright  or 
levied  an  iniquitous  toll  upon  his  goods.  Nor  was  the  way  by  sea 
beset  with  less  peril.  Piratical  crafts  scoured  the  waters  and  made 
booty  of  any  luckless  merchantman  they  might  overpower  or  lure 
to  wreck  upon  the  dangerous  shores. 

1  From  the  old  German  /lansa,  a  confederation  or  union. 


§472] 


THE  HANSEATIC  LEAGUE 


331 


This  state  of  things  led  some  of  the  German,  cities,  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  to  form,  for  the  protection  of 
their  merchants,  an  alliance  called  the  Hanseatic  League.  The 
confederation  eventually  embraced  eighty  or  more  of  the  principal 
towns  of  North  Germany.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  trading  opera- 
tions of  its  members,  the  league  established  in  different  foreign 


The  Haxsa  Towns  and  tiikir  Chief  Forkk;\  Settlements 


cities  trading  posts  and  warehouses.  The  most  noted  centers 
of  the  trade  of  the  confederation  were  the  cities  of  Bruges,  London, 
Bergen,  Wisby,  and  Novgorod.  The  league  thus  became  a  vast 
monopoly,  which  endeavored  to  control  in  the  interests  of  its  own 
members  the  entire  commerce  of  northern  Europe. 

Numerous  causes  concurred  to  undermine  the  prosperity  of  the 
Hansa  towns  and  to  bring  about  the  dissolution  of  the  league. 
Among  these  were  the  great  maritime  discoveries  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  which  transferred  the  centers  of  commer- 
cial activity  as  well  from  the  Baltic  as  from  the  Mediterranean 
ports  to  the  harbors  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  the  Reformation 
and  the  accompanying  religious  wars  in  Germany,  which  brought 
many  of  the  Hansa  towns  to  utter  ruin. 


332  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWNS  [§473 

473.  Causes  of  the  Early  Growth  of  the  Italian  Cities.  But 
it  was  in  Italy  that  the  mediaival  cities  acquired  the  greatest 
power  and  influence.  Several  things  conspired  to  promote  their 
early  and  rapid  development,  but  a  main  cause  of  their  prosperity 
was  their  trade  with  the  East,  and  the  enormous  impulse  given  to 
this  commerce  by  the  Crusades. 

With  wealth  came  power,  and  all  the  chief  Italian  cities  became 
distinct,  self-governing  states,  with  just  a  nominal  dependence 
upon  Pope  or  Emperor,  Toward  the  close  of  the  thirteenth 
century  northern  and  central  Italy  was  divided  among  about 
two  hundred  contentious  little  city-republics.  Italy  had  become 
another  Greece. 

474.  The  Rise  of  Despots.  The  constant  wars  of  the  Italian 
cities  with  each  other  and  the  incessant  strife  of  parties  within 
each  city  led  to  the  same  issue  as  that  to  which  tended  the  end- 
less contentions  and  divisions  of  the  Greek  cities  in  ancient  times. 
Their  democratic  institutions  were  overthrown,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth  century  a  large  part  of  the  city-republics  of 
northern  and  central  Italy  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  domestic 
tyrants,  many  of  whom  by  their  crimes  rendered  themselves  as 
odious  as  the  worst  of  the  tyrants  who  usurped  supreme  power  in 
the  cities  of  ancient  Hellas  (sect.  123). 

475.  Venice.  \'enice,  the  most  famous  of  the  Italian  cities,  had 
its  beginnings  in  the  fifth  century  in  the  rude  huts  of  some  refugees 
who  fled  out  into  the  marshes  of  the  Adriatic  to  escape  the  fury 
of  the  Huns  of  Attila  (sect.  t,;!,t,).  Century  after  century  conquests 
and  negotiations  gradually  extended  the  possessions  of  the  island 
republic,  until  she  finally  came  to  control  the  coast  and  waters  of 
the  eastern  INIediterranean  in  much  the  same  way  that  Carthage 
had  mastery  of  the  western  Mediterranean  at  the  time  of  the  First 
Punic  War.  Even  before  the  Crusades  her  trade  with  the  East 
was  very  extensive,  and  by  those  expeditions  it  was  expanded  to 
enormous  dimensions. 

Venice  was  at  the  height  of  her  power  during  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries.  Her  supremacy  on  the  sea  was 
celebrated  each  year  by  the  unique  ceremony  of  "Wedding  the 


§476]       SERVICES  OF  THE  MEDI/EVAL  TOWNS 


333 


Adriatic"  by  the  dropping  of  a  ring  into  the  sea.  The  origin  of 
this  custom  was  as  follows :  In  the  year  1177  Pope  Alexander  III, 
out  of  gratitude  to  the  Venetians  for  services  rendered  him,  gave 
a  ring  to  the  Doge  with  these  words:  "Take  this  as  a  token  of 
dominion  over  the  sea,  and  wed  her  every  year,  you  and  your  suc- 
cessors forever,  in  order  that  all  may  know  that  the  sea  belongs 
to  Venice  and  is  subject  to  her  as  a  bride  is  subject  to  her 
husband."  This  cere- 
mony was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  spectacles 
of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  decline  of  Venice 
dates  from  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  conquests 
of  the  Ottoman  Turks 
during  this  century  de- 
prived her  of  a  great 
part  of  the  territory  she 
had  east  of  the  Adriatic, 
and  finally  the  discov- 
ery of  the  New  World 
by  Columbus  and  of  an 
unbroken  water  route  to 
India  by  V'asco  da  Gama 
gave  a  deathblow  to  her  commerce.  From  this  time  on  the  trade 
with  the  East  was  to  be  conducted  from  the  Atlantic  ports  instead 
of  from  those  in  the  Mediterranean. 

476.  Services  of  the  Mediaeval  Towns  to  Civilization.  Mod- 
ern civilization  inherited  much  from  each  of  the  three  great  centers 
of  mediaeval  life, —  the  monastery,  the  castle,  and  the  town.  We 
have  noticed  what  came  out  of  cloister  and  baronial  hall,  what 
the  monk  and  what  the  baron  contributed  to  civilization  (sects. 
373,  422),  We  must  now  see  what  came  out  of  the  town, — what 
contribution  the  burgher  made  to  European  life  and  culture. 

In  the  first  place,  the  towns  were  the  centers  of  the  industrial 
and  commercial  life  of  the  INIiddle  Ages,  and  laid  the  foundations 


^^^«^«pir^^ 


Fig.  93.    State  Barge  of  Venice  used 

IX   THE   Ceremony   of   "  Wedding  the 

Adriatic  "  (From  a  model  preserved  in  the 

Venetian  Arsenal ;  after  Lacroix) 

She  was  a  maiden  city  bright  and  free  ; 
No  guile  seduced,  no  force  could  violate ; 
And,  when  she  took  unto  herself  a  mate, 
She  must  espouse  the  everlasting  sea. 

Wordsworth 


334  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWNS  [§476 

of  that  vast  system  of  international  exchange  and  traffic  which 
forms  a  characteristic  feature  of  modern  European  civilization. 

In  the  second  place,  the  mediaeval  cities,  along  with  the  mon- 
asteries, were  the  foster  home  of  architecture,  sculpture,  and  paint- 
ing. These  things,  as  has  been  well  said,  are  "the  beautiful  flowers 
of  free  city  life."  The  old  picturesque  high-gabled  houses,  the 
sculptured  gildhalls,  the  artistic  gateways,  the  superb  palaces,  and 
the  imposing  cathedrals  found  in  so  many  of  the  cities  of  Europe 
today  bear  witness  to  the  important  place  which  the  mediaeval 
towns  hold  in  the  history  of  architecture  and  art.^ 

In  the  third  place,  the  towns  were  the  birthplace  of  modern 
political  liberty.  The  inhabitants  of  the  towns  grew  into  a  new 
order  destined  to  a  great  political  future,  the  so-called  Third 
Estate,  or  Commons.  During  the  course  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  the  representatives  of  the  towns  came  to 
sit  along  with  the  nobles  and  the  clergy  in  the  national  diets 
or  parliaments  of  the  different  countries.-'  What  this  meant  for 
the  development  of  modern  parliamentary  government  we  shall 
learn  later. 

References.  Guizot,  F.  P.  G.,  Hist07y  of  Civilization  in  Europe,  lect.  vii, 
"Rise  of  the  Free  Cities."  Green,  Mrs.  J.  R.,  Toivn  Life  in  the  Fifteenth 
Century.  ZiMMERN,  H.,  The  Hansa  To'wns.  Symonds,  J.  A.,  A^^e  of  the  Despots, 
chaps,  iii  and  iv.  IIazlitt,  W.  C,  The  Venetian  Republic  (the  standard  authority 
in  EngHsh).  Thayer,  W.  R.,  A  Short  Histoty  of  Venice.  Gross,  C,  The  Gild 
Merchant.  Mrs.Olipuant,  Makers  of  Venice.  In  the  "  Mediaeval  Towns  "series 
there  are  separate  volumes  on  Florence,  Nuremberg,  Bruges,  etc.,  which  con- 
tain chapters  of  interest. 

1  The  enthusiasm  for  church  building  was  most  marked  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries.  The  style  of  architecture  first  employed  was  the  Romanesque,  characterized 
by  the  rounded  arch  and  the  dome;'  but  toward  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century  this 
was  superseded  by  the  Gothic,  distinguished  by  the  pointed  arch,  the  slender  spire,  and 
rich  ornamentation. 

2  In  England  the  towns  were  first  asked  to  send  representatives  to  Parliament  in 
1265  (sect.  488) ;  in  France  the  delegates  of  the  Third  Estate  sat  with  the  lords  and 
clergy  for  the  first  time  in  1302  (sect.  506);  in  Aragon  and  Castile  the  representatives 
of  the  cities  were  admitted  to  the  Cortes  in  1 133  and  1 162  respectively  ;  in  ficrmany  the 
deputies  of  the  free  imperial  cities  acquired  membership  in  the  Diet  during  the  reign  of 
Henr>- VII  (1308-1313). 


CHAPTER  L 

THE  UNIVERSITIES  AND  THE  SCHOOLMEN 

477.  The  Rise  and  Early  Growth  of  the  Universities.  A 
significant  feature  of  the  work  of  Charlemagne  was  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  in  connection  with  the  cathedrals  and  monasteries 
of  his  realm.  From  the  opening  of  the  ninth  till  well  on  into  the 
eleventh  century  the  lamp  of  learning  was  fed  in  these  Church 
schools,  although  throughout  the  tenth  century  the  flame  burned 
very  low.  But  early  in  the  twelfth  century  a  new  intellectual 
movement  began  to  stir  Western  Christendom.  This  mental  revival 
was  caused  by  many  agencies,  particularly  by  the  quickening  in- 
fluence of  the  Grxco-Arabian  culture  in  Spain  and  the  Orient, 
with  which  the  Christian  West  was  just  now  being  brought  into 
closer  contact  through  the  Crusades.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
newly  awakened  intellectual  life  there  arose  a  demand  for  a  more 
secular  system  of  education  than  that  given  in  the  cloister  schools, 
— one  that  should  prepare  a  person  for  entering  upon  a  professional 
career  as  a  physician,  lawyer,  or  statesman.^ 

It  was  in  response  to  these  new  demands  that  the  universities 
came  into  existence.  Some  of  these  were  mere  expansions  of 
cathedral  or  monastery  schools ;  others  developed  out  of  lay 
schools  which  had  grown  up  in  commercial  towns.  Three  of  the 
most  ancient  universities  were  the  University  of  Salerno,  noted 
for  its  teachers  in  medicine  ;  the  University  of  Bologna,  frequented 
for  its  instruction  in  law ;  and  the  University  of  Paris,  revered  for 
tlie  authority  of  its  doctors  in  theology.    The  University  of  Paris 

1  The  number  of  faculties  in  tlie  medircval  university  was  not  fixed.  A  usual  number 
was  four,  —  the  Faculty  of  Theology,  the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  the  Faculty  of  Law, 
and  the  Faculty  of  Arts  (or  Philosophy).  The  course  in  arts  embraced  what  is  today 
covered  by  the  courses  in  letters  and  science,  and  ser\-ed  as  a  preparation  for  entrance 
upon  one  of  the  three  specialized  professional  courses,  though  most  of  the  students 
never  went  beyond  it. 

335 


336  UNIVERSITIES  AND  SCHOOLMEN  [§478 

gave  constitution  and  rules  to  so  many  as  to  earn  the  designation 
of  ''the  Mother  of  Universities  and  the  Sinai  of  the  Middle  Ages." 
478.  Students  and  Student  Life.  The  number  of  students  in 
attendance  at  the  mediaeval  universities  was  large.  Contempo- 
raries tell  of  crowds  of  fifteen,  twenty,  and  even  thirty  thousand 


FiCi.  95.     UXIVICKSITV    AUDIICNCK    IN'    Till-.    FiF  i  i:i:\  II 1    CllMlRV 

(P>om  (ieiger's  Renaissance  iiitd  Ihiiiiaitisiiiits) 

at  the  most  popular  institutions.  These  numbers  are  doubtless 
exaggerated,  but  that  the  attendance  was  numerous  is  certain,  for 
in  those  times  all  who  were  eager  to  acquire  knowledge  must  needs 
seek  some  seat  of  learning,  since  the  scarcity  and  great  cost  of 
manuscript  books  put  home  study  out  of  the  question.  Then, 
again,  many  of  the  pupils  attending  the  non-professional  courses 
were  mere  boys  of  twelve  or  thereabouts, —  the  high-school  pupils 
of  today  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  student  body  embraced 
many  mature  men,  among  whom  were  to  be  counted  canons,  deans, 
archdeacons,  and  other  dignitaries. 


§479]  BRANCHES  OF  STUDY  337 

Student  life  in  the  earlier  university  period,  before  the  dormi- 
tory and  college  system  was  introduced,  was  unregulated  and 
shamefully  disorderly.  The  age  was  rough  and  lawless,  and  the 
student  class  were  no  better  than  their  age;  indeed,  in  some  re- 
spects they  seem  to  have  been  worse.  For  the  student  body 
included  many  rich  young  profligates',  who  found  the  universities 
the  most  agreeable  places  for  idling  away  their  time,  as  well  as 
many  wild  and  reckless  characters  who  were  constantly  engaging 
in  tavern  brawls,  terrorizing  the  townsmen  at  night,  even  way- 
laying travelers  on  the  public  roads  and  committing  "  many  other 
enormities  hateful  to  God." 

479.  Branches  of  Study  and  Methods  of  Instruction.  The 
advanced  studies  given  greatest  prominence  in  the  universities 
were  the  three  professional  branches  of  theology,  medicine,  and 
law.  The  natural  sciences  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  existed, 
although  in  alchemy  lay  hidden  the  germ  of  chemistry  and  in 
astrology  that  of  astronomy.  The  Ptolemaic  theory,  which  made 
the  earth  the  stationary  center  of  the  revolving  celestial  spheres, 
gave  color  and  form  to  all  conceptions  of  the  structure  of  the 
universe. 

The  method  of  instruction,  which  was  given  in  the  Latin 
language,  was  the  same  in  all  the  university  departments.  It  was 
a  servile  study  of  texts,  which  were  regarded  with  a  veneration 
bordering  on  superstition.  Not  even  in  the  physical  sciences  was 
there  any  serious  appeal  to  experience,  to  observation,  to  experi- 
ment. In  anatomy  discussions  took  the  place  of  dissections.^ 
Books  were  considered  better  authority  than  nature  herself. 
"Aristotle  was  regarded  as  the  founders  of  religions  are  wont  to 
be  considered."  One  venturing  to  criticize  this  "Master  of  those 
who  know"  was  looked  upon  as  presumptuous  and  irreverent. 

480.  Scholasticism;  the  Province  of  the  Schoolmen.  Spring- 
ing up  within  the  early  ecclesiastical  schools  and  developed  within 
the  later  universities,  there  came  into  existence  a  method  of 
philosophizing  which,  from  the  place  of  its  origin,  was  called 

1  At  Bologna,  where  anatomical  study  was  most  advanced,  each  student  witnessed 
only  one  dissection  during  the  year. 


338  UNIVERSITIES  AND  SCHOOLMEN  f?  4,si 

Scholasticism,  while  its  representatives  were  called  Schoolmen,  or 
Scholastics.  The  chief  task  of  the  Schoolmen  was  the  reducing 
of  Christian  doctrines  to  scientific  form,  the  harmonizing  of  reve- 
lation and  reason,  of  faith  and  science.  Viewed  in  this  light,  it  was 
not  altogether  unlike  that  theological  philosophy  of  the  present 
day  whose  aim  is  to  harmonize  the  Bible  with  the  facts  of 
modern  science. 

481.  Peter  Abelard.  The  most  eminent  of  the  early  School- 
men was  Peter  Abelard  (1079-1142).  Such  a  teacher  the  world 
had  probably  not  produced  since  Socrates  enchained  the  youth 
of  Athens.  At  Paris  over  five  thousand  pupils  are  said  to  have 
thronged  his  lecture  room.  Driven  by  the  shame  of  a  public 
scandal  to  seek  retirement,  he  hid  himself  first  in  a  monastery 
and  later  in  a  solitude  near  the  city  of  Troyes.  But  his  admirers 
followed  him  into  the  wilds  in  such  multitudes  that  a  veritable 
university  sprang  up  around  him  in  his  desert  retreat. 

Abelard's  brilliant  reputation  as  a  philosopher  was  tarnished 
by  grave  faults  of  character.  Intrusted  with  the  education  of  a 
fascinating  and  mentally  gifted  maiden,  Heloi'se  by  name,  Abelard 
betrayed  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  A  secret  marriage  bound 
in  a  tragic  fate  the  lives  of  teacher  and  pupil.  The  "tale  of  Abe- 
lard and  Heloise"  forms  one  of  the  most  romantic  yet  saddest 
traditions  of  the  twelfth  century. 

482.  Scholasticism  in  the  Thirteenth  Century.  The  thirteenth 
century  was  the  great  age  of  Scholasticism.  Its  most  illustrious 
representatives  during  this  period  were  Albertus  Magnus,  or 
"Albert  the  Great"  (d.  1280),  who  was  called  "the  second  Aris- 
totle," and  Thomas  Aquinas  (d.  1274),  known  as  "the  Angelic 
Doctor."  As  philosophers  these  Schoolmen  stand  to  each  other 
in  some  such  relation  as  did  Plato  and  Aristotle,  nor  are  their 
names  unworthy  of  being  linked  with  the  names  of  those  great 
thinkers  of  ancient  Greece.  The  reputation  of  Aquinas  as  the 
greatest  Scholastic  and  theologian  of  the  Middle  .\ges  rests  largely 
upon  his  prodigious  work  entitled  Sutnnui  Theologi(r,  or  "Sum 
of  Theology."  The  work  is  regarded  as  the  standard  of  orthodoxy 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


§483]  THE  DECLINE  OF  SCHOLASTICISM  339 

The  most  noteworthy  representative  of  the  scientific  activity  of 
the  Scholastic  age  was  the  English  Franciscan  friar,  Roger  Bacon 
(d.  about  1294),  called  "the  Wonderful  Doctor,"  on  account  of 
his  marvelous  knowledge  of  mechanics,  optics,  chemistry,  and 
other  sciences.  He  understood  the  composition  of  gunpowder,  or 
a  similar  explosive,  and  seemingly  the  nature  of  steam ;  for  in  one 
of  his  works  he  says  that  "wagons  and  ships  could  be  built  which 
would  propel  themselves  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow,  without 
horses  and  without  sails."  His  contemporaries  believed  him  to 
be  in  league  with  the  devil.  He  certainly  was  in  league  with  the 
Arabian  scholars,  whose  works  he  studied.  He  suffered  persecution 
and  was  imprisoned  for  fourteen  years. 

Roger  Bacon's  greatest  bequest  to  posterity  was  a  book  called 
Opus  Majus,  in  which  are  anticipated  in  a  wonderful  way  those 
principles  of  modern  inductive  science  laid  down  by  Francis 
Bacon  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

483.  The  Decline  of  Scholasticism;  Services  of  the  School- 
men to  Intellectual  Progress.  The  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  cen- 
turies witnessed  the  decline  of  Scholasticism.  In  this  period 
Scholastic  debate  in  the  hands  of  unworthy  successors  of  the  earlier 
great  philosophers  fell  away  for  the  most  part  into  barren  disputa- 
tions over  idle  and  impossible  questions.  The  Schoolmen  sank 
in  public  estimation  and  gave  place  to  the  humanists  (sect.  529). 

But  notwithstanding  this  degeneracy  of  Scholasticism,  the 
Schoolmen  as  a  whole  rendered  a  great  service  to  the  intellectual 
progress  of  Europe.  By  their  ceaseless  debates  they  sharpened  the 
wits  of  men  and  created  activity  of  thought  and  deftness  in  argu- 
ment. They  made  the  universities  of  the  time  real  mental  gym- 
nasia, in  which  the  awakening  mind  of  Europe  was  trained  and 
strengthened  for  its  later  and,  happily,  more  fruitful  work. 

References.  RAsiinAi.i,,  H.,  T/ie  Uni'.'ersities  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
I.AUKii:,  S.  S.,  Tlu  Rise  and  Early  Constilittion  of  Universities.  CoMPAYRE,  G., 
Abelard  and  the  Origin  and  Early  History  of  Universities.  JESSOPP,  A.,  The 
Coming  of  the  Friars,  chap,  vi,  "  The  Building  up  of  a  University."  Emerton, 
E.,  MediiFval  Europe,  chap.  xiii.  Le  Gallienne,  Richard,  Old  Love  Stories 
Retold,  ".Abelard  and  Ileloi'se." 


CHAPTER  LI 

GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS:    FORMATION  OF  NATIONAL 
GOVERNMENTS  AND  LITERATURES 

484.  Introductory.  The  most  important  political  movement 
that  marked  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  the  fusion, 
in  several  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  of  the  petty  feudal  prin- 
cipalities and  half-independent  cities  and  communes  into  great 
nations  with  strong  centralized  governments.  This  movement  was 
accompanied  by,  or  rather  consisted  in,  the  decline  of  feudalism 
as  a  governmental  system,  the  loss  by  the  cities  of  their  freedom, 
and  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  kings. 

In  some  countries,  however,  conditions  were  opposed  to  this 
centralizing  tendency,  and  in  these  the  Modern  Age  was  reached 
without  nationality  having  been  found.  But  in  England,  in  France, 
and  in  Spain  circumstances  all  seemed  to  tend  toward  unity,  and 
by  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  there  were  established  in  these 
countries  strong  despotic  monarchies.  Yet  even  among  those 
peoples  where  national  governments  did  not  appear,  some  progress 
was  made  toward  unity  through  the  formation  of  national  languages 
and  literatures,  and  the  development  of  common  feelings  and 
aspirations,  so  that  these  races  or  peoples  were  manifestly  only 
awaiting  the  opportunities  of  a  happier  period  for  the  maturing 
of  their  national  life. 

The  rise  of  monarchy  and  the  decline  of  feudalism,  this  substitu- 
tion of  strong  centralized  governments  in  place  of  the  feeble, 
irregular,  and  conllicting  rule  of  the  feudal  nobles  or  of  other 
local  authorities,  was  a  very  great  gain  to  the  cause  of  law  and 
good  order.  In  these  changes  the  political  liberties  of  all  classes,  of 
the  cities  as  well  as  of  the  nobility,  were,  it  is  true,  subverted.  But 
though  Liberty  was  lost.  Nationality  was  found.  And  the  people 
may  be  trusted  to  win  back  freedom,  as  we  shall  see. 

340 


§485]  GENERAL  STATEMENT  341 

I.  ENGLAND 

485.  General  Statement.  In  earlier  chapters  we  told  of  the 
origin  of  the  English  people  and  traced  their  growth  under  Saxon, 
Danish,  and  Norman  rulers.  In  the  present  sections  we  shall  tell 
very  briefly  the  story  of  their  fortunes  under  the  Plantagenet 
house  and  its  branches,  thus  carrying  on  our  narrative  to  the 
accession  of  the  Tudors  in  1485,  from  which  event  dates  the 
beginning  of  the  modern  history  of  England. 

The  chief  events  of  the  period  which  we  shall  notice  were  the 
loss  of  the  English  possessions  in  France,  the  wresting  of  Magna 
Carta  from  King  John,  the  formation  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  wars  with  Scotland,  the  Hundred  Years'  War  with  France, 
and  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 

486.  Loss  of  the  English  Possessions  in  France  (1202-1204). 
The  issue  of  the  battle  of  Hastings,  in  1066,  made  William  of 
Normandy  king  of  England.  But  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  he 
still  held  his  possessions  in  France  as  a  fiei  from  the  French  king, 
whose  vassal  he  was.  These  Continental  lands,  save  for  some  short 
intervals,  remained  under  the  rule  of  William's  Norman  successors 
in  England.  Then,  when  Henry,  Count  of  Anjou,  came  to  the 
English  throne  as  the  first  of  the  Plantagenets  (sect.  435),  these 
territories  were  greatly  increased  by  the  French  possessions  of  that 
prince.  The  larger  part  of  Henry's  dominions,  indeed,  was  in 
France,  the  whole  of  the  western  half  of  the  country  being  in 
his  hands ;  but  for  all  of  this  he  of  course  paid  homage  to  the 
French  king. 

As  was  inevitable,  a  feeling  of  intense  jealousy  sprang  up 
between  the  two  sovereigns.  The  French  king  was  ever  watching 
for  some  pretext  upon  which  he  might  deprive  his  rival  of  his  pos- 
sessions in  France.  The  opportunity  came  when  John,  in  1199, 
succeeded  Richard  the  Lion-Hearted  as  king  of  England.  Twice 
that  odious  tyrant  was  summoned  by  Philip  Augustus  of  France 
to  appear  before  his  French  peers  and  clear  himself  of  certain 
charges,  one  of  which  was  the  murder  of  his  nephew  Arthur.  John 
refused  to  obey  the  summons.    Philip  was  finally  able,  so  strong 


342  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§487 

was  the  feeling  against  John,  to  dispossess  him  of  all  his  lands  in 
France,  save  a  part  of  Aquitaine  in  the  south. 

The  loss  of  these  lands  was  a  great  gain  to  England.  The 
Angevin  kings  had  been  pursuing  a  policy  which,  had  it  been 
successful,  would  have  made  England  a  subordinate  part  of  a  great 
Continental  state.    That  danger  was  now  averted. 

487.  Magna  Carta  (1215).  Magna  Carta,  the  "Great  Char- 
ter," held  sacred  as  the  safeguard  of  English  liberties,  was  an 
instrument  which  the  English  barons  and  clergy  wrested  from 
King  John,  and  in  which  the  ancient  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
people  were  clearly  defined  and  guaranteed. 

King  John,  as  will  easily  be  believed  from  the  revelation  of 
his  character  already  made,  surpassed  the  worst  of  his  predecessors 
in  tyranny  and  wickedness.  His  course  led  to  an  open  revolt  of 
the  barons  of  the  realm.  The  tyrant  was  forced  to  bow  to  the 
storm  he  had  raised.  He  met  his  barons  at  Runnymede,  a  flat 
meadow  on  the  Thames,  near  Windsor,  and  there  affixed  his  seal 
to  the  instrument  that  had  been  prepared  to  receive  it. 

Among  the  important  articles  of  the  Great  Charter  were  the 
following,  which  we  give  as  showing  at  once  the  nature  of  the 
venerable  document  and  the  kind  of  grievances  of  which  the  people 
had  occasion  to  complain. 

Art.  12.  No  scutage^  or  aid  shall  be  imposed  in  our  kingdom 
except  by  the  common  council  of  our  kingdom,  except  for  the  ran- 
soming of  our  body,  for  the  making  of  our  oldest  son  a  knight,  and 
for  once  marrying  our  oldest  daughter,  and  for  these  purposes  it  shall 
be  only  a  reasonable  aid  ;    .    .    . 

Art.  39.  No  free  man  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or  dispos- 
sessed, or  outlawed,  or  banished,  or  in  any  way  destroyed,  nor  will  we 
go  upon  him,  nor  send  upon  him,  except  by  the  legal  judgment  of  his 
peers  or  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  Great  Charter  did  not  create  new  rights  and  privileges, 
but  in  its  main  points  simply  reasserted  and  confirmed  old  usages 
and  laws.  It  was  immediately  violated  by  John  and  afterwards 
was  disregarded  by  many  of  his  successors;  but  the  people  always 

1  Scutage  was  a  money  payment  made  in  commutation  of  personal  military  service. 


^^^  Domain  of  the  French  King 

|,  ^-  )  Fiefs  held  by  other  vassals 
than  Henry  II. 


0  50  100 


se\a 


The  Plantagenet  Possessions  ix  England  and  France 


§488]  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS  343 

clung  to  it  as  the  \^arrant  and  safeguard  of  their  liberties,  and 
again  and  again  forced  tyrannical  kings  to  renew  and  confirm  its 
provisions  and  swear  solemnly  to  observe  all  its  articles. 

Considering  the  far-reaching  consequences  that  resulted  from 
the  granting  of  Magna  Carta, —  the  securing  of  constitutional 
liberty  as  an  inheritance  for  the  English-speaking  race  in  all  parts 
of  the  world, —  it  must  always  be  considered  the  most  important 
concession  ever  wrung  from  a  tyrannical  sovereign. 

488.  Beginnings  of  the  House  of  Commons  (i265).  The 
reign  of  Henry  HI  (12 16-12 72),  John's  son  and  successor,  wit- 
nessed the  second  important  step  taken  in  English  constitutional 
freedom.  This  was  the  formation  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the 
Great  Council  having  up  to  this  time  been  made  up  of  nobles 
and  bishops.  It  was  again  the  royal  misbehavior — so  frequently 
is  it,  as  Lieber  says,  that  Liberty  is  indebted  to  bad  kings,  though 
to  them  she  owes  no  thanks — that  led  to  this  great  change  in 
the  form  of  the  English  national  assembly. 

Henry  had  violated  his  oath  to  observe  the  provisions  of  the 
Great  Charter  and  had  become  even  more  tyrannical  than  his 
father.  In  the  words  of  a  contemporary,  the  English  were  op- 
pressed "like  as  the  people  of  Israel  under  Pharaoh."  The  final 
outcome  was  an  uprising  of  the  barons  and  the  people  similar 
to  that  in  the  reign  of  King  John.  It  was  open  war  between  the 
king  and  his  people. 

In  order  to  rally  all  classes  to  the  support  of  the  cause  he 
represented,  Earl  Simon  de  Montfort,  the  leader  of  the  revolt,  now 
issued,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner, 
writs  of  summons  to  the  barons  (save  the  king's  adherents),  the 
bishops,  and  the  abbots  to  meet  in  Parliament ;  and  at  the  same 
time  sent  similar  writs  to  the  sheriffs  of  the  different  shires,  direct- 
ing them  "to  return  two  knights  for  the  body  of  their  county,  with 
two  citizens  or  burghers  for  every  city  and  borough  contained 
in  it."  This  was  the  first  time  that  plain  untitled  citizens,  or 
burghers,  had  been  called  to  take  their  place  with  the  barons, 
bishops,  and  knights,  in  the  great  council  of  the  nation,  to  join  in 
deliberations  on  the  affairs  of  the  realm. 


344 


GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


[§489 


From  this  gathering,  then,  may  be  dated  the  birth  of  the 
House  of  Commons  (1265).  Formed  as  it  was  of  knights  and 
burghers,  representatives  of  the  common  people,  it  was  at  first  a 
weak  and  timorous  body,  quite  overawed  by  the  great  lords,  but 

was  destined  finally  to  grow  into  the 
controlling  branch  of  the  British 
Parliament. 

489.  Wars  with  Scotland  (  1296- 
1328).  In  the  thirteenth  century 
the  English  kings  were  claiming  suze- 
rain rights  over  Scotland.  During 
the  reign  of  Edward  I  of  England  the 
Scottish  king  (Balliol)  broke  the 
feudal  ties  which  bound  him  to  Ed- 
ward and  sought  an  alliance  with  the 
French  king.  In  the  war  that  fol- 
lowed the  Scots  were  defeated  and 
Scotland  fell  back  as  a  forfeited  fief 
into  the  hands  of  Edward  (1296). 
As  a  sign  that  the  Scottish  kingdom 
had  come  to  an  end,  Edward  carried 
off  to  London  the  royal  regalia,  and 
with  this  a  large  stone,  known  as 
"the  Stone  of  Scone,"  upon  which 
the  Scottish  kings  from  time  out  of 
memory  had  been  accustomed  to  be 
crowned.  The  venerated  "stone  of  destiny"  was  taken  to  West- 
minster Abbey  and  there  made  the  seat  of  a  stately  throne  chair, 
which  to  this  day  is  used  in  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  the 
English  sovereigns. 

The  two  countries  were  not  long  united.  The  Scotch  could  not 
endure  submission,  and  soon  all  the  Lowlands  were  in  determined 
revolt.  In  the  great  battle  of  Bannockburn  (1314)  the  English 
army  was  almost  annihilated.  It  was  the  most  appalling  disaster 
that  had  befallen  the  arms  of  the  English  people  since  the  mem- 
orable defeat  of  Harold  at  Hastings. 


Fu;.  96.    CoKON.-VTKiN  ClIAIK 

IN  Wkst.mi.nstkk  Aiuu.v 

Beneath  the  seat  is  the  celebrated 

Scottish    Stone    of    .Scone,    which 

was  carried  away  from  Scotland  by 

Edward  I 


§490]  THE  HUNDRED  YEARS'  WAR  345 

The  independence  gained  by  the  Scotch  at  Bannockburn  (for 
though  the  war  went  on  for  some  years  longer  Scotland  was  prac- 
tically an  independent  nation  thereafter)  was  maintained  for  nearly 
three  centuries,  until  1603,  when  the  crowns  of  England  and  Scot- 
land were  peacefully  united  in  the  person  of  James  VI  of  Scotland, 
who  became  James  I  of  England,  the  founder  of  the  Stuart  dy- 
nasty of  English  kings.  During  the  greater  part  of  these  three 
hundred  years  the  two  countries  were  very  quarrelsome  neighbors. 


The  Hundred  Years'  War  (1338-1453) 

490.  Causes  of  the  War.  The  long  and  wasteful  war  between 
England  and  France  known  as  the  Hundred  Years'  War  was  a 
most  eventful  one,  and  its  effects  upon  both  England  and  France 
were  so  important  and  lasting  as  to  entitle  it  to  a  prominent 
place  in  the  records  of  the  closing  events  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  wars  with  Scotland  were  one  of  the  things  that  led  up  to 
this  war.  All  through  that  struggle  France,  as  the  old  and 
jealous  rival  of  England,  was  ever  giving  aid  and  encouragement 
to  the  Scots.  Then  the  English  possessions  in  France,  for  which 
the  English  king  owed  homage  to  the  French  sovereign  as 
overlord,  were  a  source  of  constant  dispute  between  the  two 
countries. 

491.  The  Battle  of  Crecy  (i346).  The  first  great  combat  of 
the  long  war  was  the  famous  battle  of  Crecy,  in  which  the  Eng- 
lish bowmen  inllicted  upon  the  French  a  most  terrible  defeat. 
Twelve  hundred  knights,  the  flower  of  French  chivalry,  and  thou- 
sands of  foot  soldiers  lay  dead  upon  the  field. 

The  battle  of  Crecy  is  memorable  for  several  reasons,  but  chiefly 
because  feudalism  and  chivalry  there  received  their  deathblow. 
"The  whole  social  and  political  fabric  of  the  IMiddle  Ages," 
writes  Green,  "rested  on  a  military  base,  and  its  base  was  suddenly 
withdrawn.  The  churl  had  struck  down  the  noble ;  the  bowman 
proved  more  than  a  match,  in  sheer  hard  fighting,  for  the  knight. 
From  the  day  of  Crecy  feudalism  tottered  slowly  but  surely  to 
its  grave."    The  battles  of  the  world  were  thereafter  to  be  fought 


346 


GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


[§492 


and  won,  not  by  mail-clad  knights  with  battle-ax  and  lance,  but 
by  common  foot  soldiers  with  bow  and  gun.^ 

492.  The  Black  Death  (1347-1349).  At  just  this  time  there 
fell  upon  Europe  the  awful  pestilence  known  as  the  Black  Death. 
The  plague  was  introduced  from  the  East  by  way  of  the  trade 
routes  of  the  ^Mediterranean,  and  from  the  Southern  countries 
spread  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  over  the  entire  continent,  its 

virulence  without  doubt 
being  greatly  increased 
by  the  unsanitary  con- 
dition of  the  crowded 
towns  and  the  wretched 
mode  of  living  of  the 
poorer  classes.  In  not 
a  few  regions  almost  all 
the  people  fell  victims 
to  the  scourge.  Many 
monasteries  were  almost 
emptied.  In  the  Medi- 
terranean and  the  Baltic, 
ships  were  seen  drifting 
about  without  a  soul  on  board.  Crops  rotted  unharvested  in  the 
fields  ;  herds  and  flocks  wandered  about  unattended.  It  is  estimated 
that  from  one  third  to  one  half  of  the  population  of  Europe 
perished.  Hecker,  a  historian  of  the  pestilence,  estimates  the 
total  number  of  victims  at  twenty-five  millions.  It  was  the  most 
awful  calamity  that  ever  befell  the  human  race. 

493.  Battle  of  Agincourt  (1415).  During  the  reign  in  Eng- 
land of  Henry  V,  France  was  unfortunate  in  having  an  insane 
king,  Charles  VI;  and  Henry,  taking  advantage  of  the  disorder 
into  which  the  French  kingdom  naturally  fell  under  these  circum- 
stances, invaded  the  land  with  a  well-equipped  army,  made  up 
largely  of  archers.    On  the  field  of  Agincourt  the  French  suffered 

1  The  next  two  important  events  of  the  war  were  the  capture  of  Calais  by  the 
English  (1347)  and  tlie  battle  of  Poitiers  (1356),  which  was  for  the  French  a  second 
Crdcy.  The  battle  was  followed  (in  1360)  by  the  treaty  of  Hrctigny. 


Fig.  97.  CiiAKGK  OF  Fkkxch  Kxiciii  is  and 
Flight  of  English  Arrows 


§494] 


JOAN  OF  ARC 


347 


(^lfi-Cv^^ 


a  most  humiliating  defeat,  their  terrible  losses  falling,  as  at  Crecy, 
chiefly  upon  the  knighthood.  Five  years  later  was  concluded  a 
treaty,'  according  to  the  terms  of  which  the  French  crown,  upon 
the  death  of  Charles,  was  to  go  to  the  English  king. 

494.  Joan  of  Arc;  the  Relief  of  Orleans  (1429).  But  patriot- 
ism was  not  yet  wholly  extinct  among  the  French  people.  There 
were  many  who  regarded  the  concessions  of  the  treaty  as  not  only 
weak  and  shameful  but  as  unjust  to 
the  dauphin  Charles,  who  was  thereby 
disinherited,  and  they  accordingly  re- 
fused to  be  bound  by  its  provisions. 
Consequently,  when  the  poor  insane 
king  died  the  terms  of  the  treaty  could 
not  be  carried  out  in  full,  and  the  war 
dragged  on.  The  party  that  stood  by 
their  native  prince,  afterwards  crowned 
as  Charles  VII,  were  at  last  reduced  to 
most  desperate  straits.  The  greater 
part  of  the  country  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  English,  who  were  holding  in 
close  siege  the  important  city  of 
Orleans. 

But  the  darkness  was  the  deep  gloom 
that    precedes    the   dawn.    A    strange 

deliverer  now  appears, —  the  famous  Joan  of  Arc.  This  young 
peasant  girl,  with  soul  sensitive  to  impressions  from  brooding 
over  her  country's  wrongs  and  sufferings,  saw  visions  and  heard 
voices  which  bade  her  undertake  the  work  of  delivering  France. 
She  was  obedient  unto  the  heavenly  voices. 

Rejected  by  some,  yet  received  by  most  of  her  countrymen 
as  a  messenger  from  Heaven,  the  maiden  kindled  throughout  the 
land  a  flame  of  enthusiasm  that  nothing  could  resist.  Inspiring 
the  dispirited  F>ench  soldiers  with  new  courage,  she  forced  the 
English  to  raise  the  siege  of  Orleans  (from  which  exploit  she  be- 
came known  as  the  "INIaid  of  Orleans")   and  speedily  brought 

1  The  Treaty  ot  Troves,  1420. 


Fig.  98.    JoAX  of  Arc 

We  have  no  authentic  likeness  of 
Joan  of  Arc.  The  above  must  be 
regarded  as  an  idealized  portrait 


348  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§  495 

about  the  coronation  of  Prince  Charles  at  Rheims  (1429).  Shortly 
afterward  she  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  was  tried  by 
ecclesiastical  judges  for  witchcraft  and  heresy,  and  was  condemned 
to  be  burned  as  a  heretic  and  a  witch.  Her  martyrdom  took  place 
at  Rouen  in  the  year  1431. 

But  the  spirit  of  the  jMaid  had  already  taken  possession  of  the 
French  nation.  From  this  on,  the  war,  though  long  continued, 
went  steadily  against  the  English.  Little  by  little  they  were  pushed 
off  from  the  soil  they  had  conquered,  and  driven  out  of  their  own 
Gascon  lands  of  the  South  as  well,  until  finally  they  held  nothing 
in  the  land  save  Calais.  Thus  ended,  in  1453,  t^^  year  of  the 
fall  of  Constantinople,  the  Hundred  Years'  War. 

495.  Effects  upon  England  of  the  War.  The  most  important 
effects  of  the  war  as  concerns  England  were  the  enhancement  of 
the  power  of  the  Lower  House  of  Parliament  and  the  awakening 
of  a  national  spirit.  The  maintaining  of  the  long  and  costly 
quarrel  called  for  such  heavy  expenditures  of  men  and  money 
that  the  English  kings  were  made  more  dependent  than  hitherto 
upon  the  representatives  of  the  people,  who  were  careful  to  make 
their  grants  of  supplies  conditional  upon  the  correction  of  abuses 
or  the  confirming  of  their  privileges.  Thus  the  war  served  to 
make  the  Commons  a  power  in  the  English  government. 

Again,  as  the  war  was  participated  in  by  all  classes  alike,  the 
great  victory  at  Crecy  and  the  others  which  followed  aroused  a 
national  pride,  which  led  to  a  closer  union  between  the  different 
elements  of  society.  Normans  and  English,  enlisted  in  a  common 
enterprise,  were  fused  by  the  ardor  of  a  common  patriotic  en- 
thusiasm into  a  single  people.  The  real  national  life  of  England 
dates  from  this  time. 

The  Wars  of  the  Roses  (1455-1485) 

496.  The  Two  Roses;  the  Battle  of  Bosworth  Field.     The 

Wars  of  the  Roses  is  the  name  given  to  a  long  contest  between 
the  adherents  of  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  rival  branches 
of  the  royal  family  of  England.    The  strife  was  so  named  because 


§  497]  THE  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WARS  349 

the  Yorkists  adopted  as  their  badge  a  white  rose  and  the  Lancas- 
trians a  red  one.  The  battle  of  Bosworth  Field  (1485)  marks 
the  close  of  the  war.  In  this  fight  King  Richard  HI,  the  last 
of  the  House  of  York,  was  overthrown  and  slain  by  Henry 
Tudor,  Earl  of  Richmond,  who  was  crowned  on  the  field  with 
the  diadem  which  had  fallen  from  the  head  of  Richard,  and 
saluted  as  King  Henry  VH.  With  him  began  the  dynasty  of 
the  Tudors. 

497.  The  Effects  of  the  Wars.  The  first  important  result  of 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses  was  the  ruin  of  the  baronage  of  England. 
One  half  of  the  nobility  were  slain.  Those  that  survived  were 
ruined,  their  estates  having  been  wasted  or  confiscated  during  the 
progress  of  the  struggle.  Not  a  single  great  house  retained  its 
old-time  wealth  and  influence.  The  war  marks  the  final  downfall 
of  feudalism  in  England. 

The  second  result  of  the  struggle  sprang  from  the  first.  This 
was  the  great  peril  into  which  English  liberty  was  cast  by  the 
ruin  of  the  nobility.  It  was  primarily  the  barons  who  had  forced 
the  Great  Charter  from  King  John,  and  who  had  kept  him  and 
his  successors  from  reigning  like  absolute  monarchs.  Upon  the 
ruins  of  their  order  was  now  erected  something  like  a  royal  des- 
potism. Not  until  the  revolution  of  the  seventeenth  century  did 
the  people,  by  overturning  the  throne  of  the  Stuarts,  curb  the 
undue  power  of  the  crown  and  recover  their  lost  liberties. 

Growth  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature 

498.  The  Language.  From  the  Norman  Conquest  to  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  there  were  in  use  in  England 
three  languages:  Norman  French  was  the  speech  of  the  con- 
querors and  the  medium  of  polite  literature;  Saxon,  or  Old 
English,  was  the  tongue  of  the  conquered  people;  while  Latin 
was  the  language  of  the  laws  and  records,  of  the  Church  services, 
and  of  the  works  of  the  learned. 

Modern  English  is  the  old  Saxon  tongue  worn  and  improved 
by  use  and   enriched   by   a   large   infusion   of  Norman-French 


350  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  IM99 

words,  with  less  important  additions  from  the  Latin  and  other 
languages.  It  took  the  place  of  the  Norman  French  in  the 
courts  of  law  about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

499.  Effect  of  the  Norman  Conquest  on  English  Literature. 
The  blow  that  struck  down  King  Harold  and  his  brave  thanes  on 
the  field  of  Hastings  silenced  for  the  space  of  above  a  century  the 
voice  of  English  literature.  The  tongue  of  the  conquerors  became 
the  speech  of  the  court,  the  nobility,  and  the  clergy;  while  the 
language  of  the  despised  English  was,  like  themselves,  crowded 
out  of  every  place  of  honor.  But  when,  after  a  few  generations, 
the  downtrodden  race  began  to  reassert  itself,  English  literature 
emerged  from  its  obscurity,  and,  with  an  utterance  somewhat 
changed, — yet  unmistakably  it  is  the  same  voice, —  resumed  its 
interrupted  lesson  and  its  broken  song. 

500.  Chaucer  (i340?-i40o).  Holding  a  position  high  above 
all  other  writers  of  early  English  is  Geoffrey  Chaucer.  He  is 
the  first  in  time,  and,  after  Shakespeare,  perhaps  the  first  in 
genius,  among  the  great  poets  of  the  English-speaking  race. 
He  is  reverently  called  the  ''Father  of  English  poetry." 

Chaucer's  greatest  and  most  important  work  is  his  Canterbury 
Tales.  The  poet  represents  himself  as  one  of  a  company  of  story- 
telling pilgrims  who  have  set  out  on  a  journey  to  the  tomb  of 
Thomas  Becket  at  Canterbury.  The  persons,  thirty-two  in 
number,  making  up  the  party,  represent  almost  every  calling 
in  the  middle  class  of  English  society.  The  prologue,  contain- 
ing characterizations  of  the  different  members  of  the  company, 
is  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  production.  Here  as  in  a 
gallery  we  find  faithful  j)ortraits  of  our  ancestors  of  the  four- 
teenth century. 

501.  William  Langland.  The  genial  Chaucer  shows  us  the 
pleasant,  attractive  side  of  English  society  and  life;  William 
Langland,  another  writer  of  the  same  period,  in  a  poem  called 
the  Vision  of  Piers  the  Plowman  (1362),  lights  up  for  us  the  world 
of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed.  This  poem  quivers  with  sympathy 
for  the  hungry,  labor-worn  peasant,  doomed  to  a  life  of  weary 
routine  and  helplessness,  despised  by  haughty  lords  and  robbed  by 


§502]  JOHN  WYCLIFFE  351 

shameless  ecclesiastics.  The  long  wars  with  France  had  demoral- 
ized the  nation  ;  the  Black  Death  had  just  reaped  its  awful  harvest 
among  the  ill-clad,  ill-fed,  and  ill-housed  poor.  Occasional  out- 
bursts of  wrath  against  the  heartlessness  of  the  privileged  classes 
in  Church  and  State  are  the  mutterings  of  the  storm  soon  to  burst 
upon  the  social  world  in  the  fury  of  the  Peasants'  Revolt/  and 
later  upon  the  religious  world  in  the  upheavals  of  the  Reformation. 


Fig.  99.    Plowing  Scene.  (From  a  manuscript  of  the  fourteenth  centurj') 

502.  John  Wycliffe  (1324-1384).  Foremost  among  the  reformers 
and  religious  writers  of  the  period  under  review  was  John 
Wycliffe,  called  the  "Morning  Star  of  the  Reformation."  This 
bold  reformer  attacked  first  many  of  the  practices  and  then  cer- 
tain of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  He  gave  the  English  people 
the  first  translation  of  the  entire  Bible  in  the  English  language. 
By  means  of  manuscript  copies  it  was  widely  circulated  and  read. 
Its  influence  was  very  great,  and  from  its  appearance  may  be  dated 
the  beginnings  of  the  Reformation  in  England. 

II.  FRANCE 

503.  Beginnings  of  the  French  Kingdom.  The  separate  his- 
tory of  France  ma\'  be  regarded  as  beginning  with  the  partition 
of  Verdun  in  843.  At  that  time  the  Carolingians,  of  whom  we 
hav^e  already  learned  (Chapter  XLI),  exercised  the  royal  power. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  in  987,  the  first  of  the 
Capetian  dynasty  came  to  the  throne. 

1  In  1 38 1  the  English  peasants  rose  in  revolt,  demanding  the  abolition  of  serfdom. 
The  uprising  was  pitilessly  suppressed. 


352  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§504 

The  first  Capet ian  king  differed  from  his  vassal  counts  and 
dukes  simply  in  having  a  more  dignified  title,  his  power  being 
scarcely  greater  than  that  of  many  of  the  lords  who  paid  him 
homage  as  their  suzerain ;  but  before  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages 
France  had  come  to  be  one  of  the  most  compact  and  powerful 
kingdoms  in  Europe.  How  various  circumstances  conspired  to 
build  up  the  power  of  the  kings  at  the  expense  of  that  of  the 
great  feudal  lords  and  of  the  Church  will  appear  as  we  go  on. 

504.  The  Acquisition  of  the  English  Possessio  s  in  France. 
In  our  sketch  of  the  growth  of  England  we  spoke  of  the  extensive 
possessions  of  the  first  Angevin  kings  in  France,  and  told  how  the 
larger  part  of  these  feudal  lands  were  lost  through  King  John's 
misconduct  and  resumed  as  forfeited  fiefs  by  his  suzerain  Philip 
Augustus,  king  of  France  (sect.  486).  The  annexation  of  these 
large  and  flourishing  provinces  to  the  crown  of  France  brought  a 
vast  accession  of  power  and  patronage  to  the  king,  who  was  now 
easily  the  superior  of  any  of  his  great  vassals. 

505.  The  French  and  the  Crusades.  The  age  of  the  Capetians 
was  the  age  of  the  Crusades.  These  expeditions,  while  stirring 
all  Christendom,  appealed  especially  to  the  ardent  temperament  of 
the  Gallic  race.  It  was  the  great  predominance  of  French-speaking 
persons  among  the  first  crusaders  which  led  the  Eastern  peoples  to 
call  them  all  Franks,  the  term  still  used  throughout  the  East  to 
designate  Europeans,  irrespective  of  their  nationality. 

But  it  is  only  the  influence  of  the  Crusades  on  the  French 
monarchy  that  we  need  to  notice,  here.  They  tended  very  ma- 
terially to  weaken  the  power  and  influence  of  the  feudal  nobility, 
and  in  a  corresponding  degree  to  strengthen  the  authority  of  the 
crown  and  add  to  its  dignity.  The  way  in  which  they  brought 
about  this  transfer  of  power  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  king 
has  been  already  explained  in  the  chapter  on  the  Crusades 
(sect.  455). 

506.  Admission  of  the  Third  Estate  to  the  National  As- 
sembly (1302).  The  event  of  the  greatest  political  significance 
in  the  Capetian  age  was  the  admission,  in  the  reign  of  Philip  the 
Fair,  of  the  representatives  of  the  towns  to  the  National  Assembly. 


§507]      EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR  UPON  FRANCE         353 

This  transaction  is  in  French  history  what  the  creation  of  the 
House  of  Commons  is  in  English  history  (sect.  488). 

A  dispute  having  arisen  between  Philip  and  the  Pope  respecting 
the  control  of  the  offices  and  revenues  of  the  Church  in  France 
(sect.  462),  Philip,  in  order  to  rally  to  his  support  all  classes 
throughout  his  kingdom,  called  a  meeting  of  the  National  Assem- 
bly, to  which  he  invited  representatives  of  the  burghers,  or  inhabit- 
ants of  the  towns.  This  council  had  hitherto  been  made  up  of 
two  estates  only, —  the  nobles  and  the  clergy  ;  now  is  added  what 
comes  to  be  known  as  the  Tiers  Etat,  or  Third  Estate,  while  the 
assembly  henceforth  is  called  the  States-General.  Before  the  grow- 
ing power  of  this  Third  Estate  we  shall  see  the  Church,  the  nobil- 
ity, and  the  monarchy  all  go  down,  just  as  in  England  we  shall  see 
clergy,  nobles,  and  king  yield  to  the  rising  power  of  the  English 
Commons. 

507.  Effects  upon  France  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War.  Hav- 
ing already  in  connection  with  English  affairs  touched  upon  the 
causes  and  incidents  of  this  war,  we  shall  here  speak  only  of  the 
effects  of  the  struggle  on  the  French  people  and  kingdom.  Among 
these  must  be  noticed  the  almost  complete  ruin  of  the  French 
feudal  aristocracy,  the  consequent  growth  of  the  power  of  the 
king,  and  the  awakening  of  the  national  consciousness.  Speaking 
broadly,  we  may  say  that  by  the  close  of  the  war  feudalism  in 
France  was  over,  and  that  France  had  become,  partly  in  spite  of 
the  war  but  more  largely  by  reason  of  it,  not  only  a  great  monarchy 
but  a  great  nation. 

The  Beginnings  of  French  Literature 

508.  The  Troubadours.  The  contact  of  the  old  Latin  speech 
in  Gaul  with  that  of  the  Teutonic  invaders  gave  rise  there  to  two 
very  distinct  dialects.  These  were  the  Laugiic  d'Oc,  or  Proven- 
gal,  the  tongue  of  the  south  of  France  and  of  the  adjoining  regions 
of  Spain  and  Italy ;  and  the  Langue  d'O'il,  or  French  proper,  the 
language  of  the  North. ^ 

1  The  terms  Lans;in-  cVOc  and  [.angitc  iVO'il  arose  from  the  use  of  different  words 
for  "  yes,"  which  in  the  tongue  of  the  South  was  oc.  and  in  that  of  the  North  oil. 


354  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§509 

About  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  by  which  time  the 
Provengal  tongue  had  become  settled  and  somewhat  polished, 
literature  in  France  first  began  to  find  a  voice  in  the  songs  of  the 
Troubadours,  the  poets  of  the  South.  The  verses  of  the  Trouba- 
dours were  sung  in  every  land,  and  to  their  stimulating  influence 
the  early  poetry  of  almost  every  people  of  Europe  is  largely 
indebted. 

509.  The  Trouveurs.  These  were  the  poets  of  northern  France, 
who  composed  in  the  Languc  d'O'il,  or  Old  French  tongue.  They 
flourished  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  As  the 
poetical  literature  of  the  South  found  worthy  patrons  in  the  counts 
of  Toulouse,  so  did  that  of  the  North  find  admiring  encouragers  in 
the  dukes  of  Normandy.  The  compositions  of  the  Trouveurs  were 
chiefly  epic  or  narrative  poems,  called  romances.  Many  of  them 
gather  about  three  familiar  names, —  Charlemagne,  King  Arthur, 
and  Alexander  the  Great, —  thus  forming  what  are  designated  as 
the  cycle  of  Charlemagne,  the  Arthurian  or  Armorican  cycle,  and 
the  Alexandrian.^ 

The  influence  of  these  French  romances  upon  the  springing 
literatures  of  Europe  was  most  inspiring  and  helpful.  Nor  has 
their  influence  yet  ceased.  Thus,  in  English  literature  not  only  did 
Chaucer  and  Spenser  and  all  the  early  island  poets  draw  inspiration 
from  these  fountains  of  Continental  song,  but  the  later  Tennyson, 
in  his  Idylls  of  the  King,  has  illustrated  the  power  over  the 
imagination  yet  possessed  by  the  Arthurian  poems  of  the  old 
Trouveurs. 

510.  Froissart's  Chronicles.  The  flrst  great  prose  writer  in 
French  literature  was  Froissart  (b.  1337),  whose  picturesque- 
ness  of  style  and  skill  as  a  story-teller  have  won  for  him  the  title 
of  the  "  French  Herodotus."  Born,  as  he  was,  only  a  little  after 
the  opening  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War,  and  knowing  personally 
many  of  the  actors  in  that  long  struggle,  it  was  fitting  that  he 
should  have  become,  as  ho  did,  the  annalist  of  those  stirring  times. 

1  These  epics  represent  the  three  elements  in  the  civilization  of  western  luirope, — 
the  fierman,  the  Celtic,  and  the  Grjcco-Roman.  It  was  the  Crusades  that  brought  in 
a  fresh  relay  of  talcs  and  legends  from  the  lands  of  the  East. 


§511]  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  SPAIN  355 

III.  SPAIN 

511.  The  Beginnings  of  Spain.  When,  in  the  eighth  century, 
the  Saracens  swept  hke  a  wave  over  Spain,  the  mountains  of 
Asturias,  Cantabria,  and  Navarre,  in  the  north  of  the  peninsula, 
afforded  a  refuge  for  the  most  resolute  of  the  Christian  chiefs  who 
refused  to  submit  their  necks  to  the  INIoslem  yoke.  These  brave 
and  hardy  warriors  not  only  successfully  defended  the  hilly  dis- 
tricts that  formed  their  asylum  but  gradually  pushed  back  the 
invaders  and  regained  control  of  a  portion  of  the  fields  and  cities 
that  had  been  lost.  By  the  opening  of  the  eleventh  century  several 
little  Christian  states,  among  which  we  must  notice  especially  the 
states  of  Castile  and  Aragon  because  of  the  prominent  part  they 
were  to  play  in  later  history,  had  been  established  upon  the  ground 
thus  recovered  or  always  maintained.  Castile  was  at  first  simply 
''a  line  of  castles"  against  the  Moors,  whence  its  name. 

512.  Union  of  Castile  and  Aragon  (1479).  For  several  cen- 
turies the  princes  of  the  little  states  to  which  we  have  referred 
kept  up  an  incessant  warfare  with  their  Mohammedan  neighbors; 
but,  owing  to  dissensions  among  themselves,  they  were  unable  to 
combine  in  any  effective  way  for  the  complete  reconquest  of  their 
ancient  possessions.  But  the  marriage,  in  1469,  of  Ferdinand, 
prince  of  Aragon,  to  Isabella,  princess  of  Castile,  paved  the  way 
for  the  virtual  union  in  1479  of  these  two  leading  states  into  a 
single  kingdom.  By  this  happy  union  the  quarrels  of  these  two 
rival  principalities  were  composed,  and  they  were  now  free  to 
employ  their  united  strength  in  effecting  what  the  Christian  princes 
amidst  all  their  contentions  had  never  lost  sight  of, —  the  expulsion 
of  the  Moors  from  the  peninsula. 

513.  The  Conquest  of  Granada  (1492).  At  the  time  when 
the  basis  of  the  Spanish  monarchy  was  laid  by  the  union  of  Castile 
and  Aragon,  the  Mohammedan  possessions,  reduced  by  the  con- 
stant pressure  of  the  Christian  chiefs  through  eight  centuries, 
embraced  only  a  limited  dominion  in  the  south  of  Spain.  Here 
the  Moors  had  established  a  strong,  well-compacted  state,  known 
as  the  Kingdom  of  Granada.    As  soon  as  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 


356  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§514 

had  settled  the  affairs  of  their  dominions,  they  began  to  make 
preparation  for  the  reduction  of  this  last  stronghold  of  the 
Moorish  power  in  the  peninsula. 

The  ]Moors  made  a  desperate  defense  of  their  little  state.  The 
struggle  lasted  for  ten  years.  City  after  city  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Christian  knights ;  finally  Granada,  pressed  by  an  army  of 
seventy  thousand,  was  forced  to  surrender,  and  Ferdinand's  silver 
cross  and  Isabella's  banner  of  St.  James  were  set  up  on  the  towers 
of  the  Alhambra,  the  palace  of  the  Moorish  kings. 

The  fall  of  Granada  holds  an  important  place  among  the  events 
that  signalize  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  marked 
the  end,  after  an  existence  of  almost  eight  hundred  years,  of 


Fk;.  ioo.    Rixumbent  Effigv  of  Queen  IsAiir.Li-A.   (From  the 
magnificent  sarcophagus  in  the  Royal  Chapel  at  tiranada) 

Mohammedan  rule  in  the  Spanish  peninsula,  and  thus  formed  an 
offset  to  the  progress  of  the  Moslem  power  in  eastern  Europe 
and  the  loss  to  the  Christian  world  of  Constantinople. 

514.  The  Inquisition.  A  dark  shadow  is  cast  upon  the  reign 
of  the  illustrious  sovereigns  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  by  the  estab- 
lishment in  Spain  of  the  Inquisition,  or  Holy  Office.  This  was  a 
tribunal  the  purpose  of  which  was  the  detection  and  punishment 
of  heresy.  The  Jews  were  in  this  earlier  period  the  chief  victims 
of  the  court.  Accompanying  the  announcement  of  the  sentences  of 
the  Holy  Office  there  were  solemn  public  ceremonies  known  as 
the  auto-da-fe  (act  of  faith).  The  assembly  was  held  in  some 
church  or  in  the  public  square,  and  the  following  day  those  con- 
demned to  death  were  burned  outside  the  city  walls.  It  is 
particularly  to  this  last  act  of  the  drama  that  the  term  auto-da-fe 
has  come  popularly  to  be  applied. 


/■ THE 

_         SPANISH    KINGD03IS 

^•Cculu    ^^^ST^^  Ov^n-^fiff  IN  1S60 

rfe^  7/  0      '      50         100  2<K) 


Scale  of  Miles 


The  Alhambra:  Palace  of  the  Moorish  Kings  at  Granada 
(From  a  photograph) 


§515]  BEGINNINGS  OF  GERMANY  357 

The  Inquisition  secured  for  Spain  unity  of  religious  belief,  but 
only  through  suppressing  freedom  of  thought  and  thereby  sapping 
the  strength  and  virility  of  the  Spanish  people.  Whatever  was 
most  promising  and  vigorous  was  withered  and  blasted,  or  was  cast 
out.  In  the  year  1492  the  Jews  were  expelled  from  the  country. 
It  is  estimated  that  between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand  of 
this  race  were  forced  to  seek  an  asylum  in  other  lands. 

515.  Death  of  Ferdinand  and  of  Isabella.  Queen  Isabella  died 
in  1504,  and  Ferdinand  followed  her  in  the  year  1516,  upon 
which  latter  event  the  crown  of  Spain  descended  to  their  grandson, 
Charles,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  much  hereafter  as  Emperor 
Charles  V,    With  his  reign  the  modern  history  of  Spain  begins. 

IV.  GERMANY 

516.  Beginnings  of  the  Kingdom  of  Germany.  The  history 
of  Germany  as  a  separate  kingdom  begins  with  the  break-up  of 
the  empire  of  Charlemagne,  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury (sect.  406).  The  part  east  of  the  Rhine,  with  which  fragment 
alone  we  are  now  specially  concerned,  was  called  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Eastern  Franks,  in  distinction  from  that  west  of  the  river, 
which  was  known  as  the  Kingdom  of  the  Western  Franks.  This 
Eastern  Frankish  kingdom  was  made  up  of  several  groups  of 
tribes,  of  which  the  East  Franks  were  at  this  time  chief.  Closely 
allied  in  race,  speech,  manners,  and  social  arrangements,  all  these 
peoples  seemed  ready  to  be  welded  into  a  close  and  firm  nation. 
That  such  was  not  the  outcome  of  the  historical  development  dur- 
ing mediaeval  times  was  due  largely  to  the  adoption  by  the  German 
emperors  of  an  unfortunate  policy  respecting  a  world  empire. 
This  matter  will  be  explained  in  the  following  paragraph. 

517.  Consequences  to  Germany  of  the  Revival  of  the  Empire 
by  Otto  the  Great.  We  have  in  another  place  told  how  Otto  I 
of  Germany,  in  imitation  of  Charlemagne,  restored  the  Empire 
(sect.  406).  The  pursuit  of  this  phantom  by  the  German  kings 
resulted  in  the  most  woeful  consequences  to  Germany.  Trying  to 
grasp  too  much,  the  German  rulers  seized  nothing  at  all.  Attempting 


358  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§518 

to  be  emperors  of  the  world,  they  failed  to  become  even  kings 
of  Germany.  While  they  were  engaged  in  outside  enterprises  their 
home  affairs  were  neglected  and  the  vassal  princes  of  Germany 
succeeded  in  increasing  their  power  and  making  themselves  prac- 
tically independent.  Thus  the  unification  of  Germany  was  delayed 
for  several  hundred  years. 

Beginnings  of  German  Literature 

518.  The  Nibelungenlied.  The  Nibelungenlied,  or  the  "Lay 
of  the  Nibelungs,"  is  the  great  German  mediaeval  epic.  It  was 
reduced  to  writing  about  1200,  being  a  recast  of  German  legends 
and  lays  dating  from  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries.  The  hero 
of  the  story  is  Siegfried,  the  Achilles  of  Teutonic  legend  and  song. 

519.  The  Minnesingers.  It  was  during  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  that  the  IMinnesingers — the  poets  of  love,  as 
the  word  signifies — flourished.  They  were  the  "Troubadours  of 
Germany." 

Closely  connected  with  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Minnesingers 
is  a  species  of  chivalric  romances  known  as  court  epics.  The 
finest  of  these  pieces  have  for  their  groundwork  the  mythic  Celtic- 
French  legends  of  the  Holy  Grail  and  of  the  Knights  of  King 
Arthur's  Round  Table.  The  best  representative  of  these  romances 
is  the  poem  of  Parsifal.^  The  moral  and  spiritual  teaching  of  the 
poem  is  that  only  through  humility,  purity,  and  human  sympathy 
can  the  soul  attain  perfection. 

V.  RUSSIA 

520.  The  Beginnings  of  Russia;  the  Mongol  Invasion.  The 
state  established  by  the  Swedish  adventurer  Ruric  (sect.  409) 
came  to  be  known  as  Russia,  from  Ros,  the  name  of  the  Scandi- 
navian settlers.  The  descendants  of  Ruric  gradually  extended 
their  authority  over  neighboring  tribes,  until  nearly  all  the  north- 
western Slavs  were  included  in  their  growing  dominions. 

1  By  Wolfram  of  Kschcnbach  (d.  about  1220). 


§521]  RUSSIA.    ITALY  359 

In  the  thirteenth  century  an  overwhelming  calamity  befell 
Russia.  This  was  the  overrunning  and  conquest  of  the  country 
by  the  Mongol  hordes  (sect.  466).  The  barbarian  conquerors 
inflicted  the  most  horrible  atrocities  upon  the  unfortunate  land, 
and  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  held  the  Russian  princes  in 
a  degrading  bondage,  forcing  them  to  pay  homage  and  tribute. 
This  misfortune  delayed  for  centuries  the  nationalization  of  the 
Slavic  peoples. 

521.  Russia  freed  from  the  Mongols.  It  was  not  until  the 
reign  of  Ivan  the  Great  (1462-1505)  that  Russia, —  now  fre- 
quently called  Muscovy  from  the  fact  that  it  had  been  reor- 
ganized with  Moscow  as  a  center, — after  a  terrible  struggle, 
succeeded  in  freeing  itself  from  the  hateful  Tatar  domination  and 
began  to  assume  the  character  of  a  well-consolidated  monarchy. 
By  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  Russia  had  become  a  great  power ; 
but  she  was  as  yet  too  closely  hemmed  in  by  hostile  states  to  be 
able  to  make  her  influence  felt  in  the  affairs  of  Europe. 

VI.  ITALY 

522.  No  National  Government.  In  marked  contrast  to  all 
those  countries  of  which  we  have  thus  far  spoken,  unless  we 
except  Germany,  Italy  came  to  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages 
without  a  national  or  regular  government.  And  yet  the  mediaeval 
period  did  not  pass  without  attempts  on  the  part  of  patriot  spirits 
to  effect  some  sort  of  union  among  the  different  cities  and 
states  of  the  peninsula.  The  most  noteworthy  of  these  movements, 
and  one  which  gave  assurance  that  the  spark  of  patriotism  which 
was  in  time  to  flame  into  an  inextinguishable  passion  for  national 
unity  was  kindling  in  the  Italian  heart,  was  that  headed  by  the 
patriot-hero  Rienzi  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

523.  Rienzi,  Tribune  of  Rome  (1347).  During  the  greater 
part  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  seat  of  the  Papal  See  was  at 
Avignon,  beyond  the  Alps  (sect.  463).  Throughout  this  period  of 
the  "Babylonian  Captivity,"  Rome,  deprived  of  her  natural 
guardians,  was  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  confusion.     The  nobles 


36o  GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS  [§  523 

terrorized  the  country  about  the  capital  and  kept  the  streets  of 
the  city  itself  in  constant  turmoil  with  their  bitter  feuds. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disorders  there  appeared  from  among 
the  lowest  ranks  of  the  people  a  deliverer  in  the  person  of  one 
Nicola  di  Rienzi.  Possessed  of  considerable  talent  and  great  elo- 
quence, Rienzi  easily  incited  the  people  to  a  revolt  against  the  rule, 
or  rather  misrule,  of  the  nobles,  and  succeeded  in  having  himself, 
with  the  title  of  Tribune,  placed  at  the  head  of  a  new  government 
for  Rome.  He  forced  the  nobles  into  submission,  and  in  a  short 
time  effected  a  most  wonderful  transformation  in  the  city  and 
surrounding  country.  The  best  days  of  republican  Rome  seemed 
to  have  been  restored.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Roman  populace 
knew  no  limits.  The  remarkable  revolution  drew  the  attention 
of  all  Italy,  and  of  the  world  beyond  the  peninsula  as  well. 

Encouraged  by  the  success  that  had  thus  far  attended  his 
schemes,  Rienzi  now  began  to  concert  measures  for  the  union 
of  all  the  principalities  and  cities  of  Italy  into  a  great  repub- 
lic, with  Rome  as  its  capital.  He  sent  ambassadors  throughout 
Italy  to  plead  at  the  courts  of  the  princes  and  in  the  council  cham- 
bers of  the  municipalities  the  cause  of  Italian  unity  and  freedom. 

The  splendid  dream  of  Rienzi  was  shared  by  other  Italian 
patriots  besides  himself,  among  whom  was  the  poet  Petrarch, 
who  was  the  friend  and  encourager  of  the  plebeian  tribune,  and 
who  "wished  part  in  the  glorious  work  and  in  the  lofty  fame." 

But  the  moment  for  Italy's  unification  had  not  yet  come. 
Rienzi  proved  to  be  an  unworthy  leader.  His  sudden  elevation 
and  surprising  success  completely  turned  his  head,  and  he  soon 
began  to  exhibit  the  most  incredible  vanity  and  weakness.  The 
people  withdrew  from  him  their  support ;  the  Pope  excommuni- 
cated him  as  a  rebel  and  heretic ;  and  the  nobles  rose  against  him. 
He  was  finally  killed  in  a  sudden  uprising  of  the  populace. 

Thus  vanished  the  dream  of  Rienzi  and  of  Petrarch,  of  the  hero 
and  of  the  poet.  Centuries  of  division,  of  shameful  subjection  to 
foreign  princes, —  French,  Spanish,  and  Austrian, — of  wars  and 
suffering,  were  yet  before  the  Italian  people  ere  Rome  should 
become  the  center  of  a  free,  orderly,  and  united  Italy. 


o 


§524]  THE  RENAISSANCE  IN  ITALY  361 

524.  The  Renaissance.  Though  the  Middle  Ages  closed  in 
Italy  without  the  rise  there  of  a  national  government,  still  before 
the  end  of  the  period  much  had  been  done  to  create  those  common 
ideals  and  sentiments  upon  which  political  unity  can  alone  securely 
repose.  Literature  and  art  here  performed  the  part  that  war  did 
in  other  countries  in  arousing  a  national  pride  and  spirit.  The 
Renaissance,  of  which  we  shall  tell  in  the  following  chapter,  did 
much  toward  creating  among  the  Italians  a  common  pride  in  race 
and  country  ;  and  thus  this  splendid  literary  and  artistic  enthusiasm 
was  the  first  step  in  a  course  of  national  development  which  was 
to  lead  the  Italian  people,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  to  a  common 
political  life. 

525.  The  Prince  of  Machiavelli.  Here,  in  connection  with 
Italian  Renaissance  literature,  a  word  will  be  in  place  respecting 
The  Prince,  by  the  Florentine  historian  Machiavelli.  In  this 
famous  book  the  writer,  imbued  with  a  deep  patriotic  sentiment, 
points  out  the  way  in  which,  in  the  midst  of  the  existing  chaos, 
material  and  spiritual,  Italy  might  be  consolidated  into  a  great 
state,  like  England  or  France  or  Spain. 

The  maker  of  a  united  Italy,  he  argues,  must  be  a  strong  des- 
potic prince,  who  in  the  work  must  have  no  moral  scruples  what- 
ever, but  be  ready  to  use  all  means,  however  cruel  and  unjust  and 
wicked,  which  promised  to  further  the  end  in  view.  After  the 
prince  had  created  a  united  Italy,  then  he  must  rule  in  righteous- 
ness as  the  representative  of  the  people. 

The  way  in  which  Machiavelli  instructs  the  prince  to  build  up 
a  state  out  of  the  broken-down  institutions  of  the  INIiddle  Ages 
was,  in  truth,  the  very  way  in  which  the  despots  of  his  time 
in  Italy  had  actually  created  their  principalities  and  confirmed 
their  power ;  but  that  he  should  have  seriously  advised  anyone  to 
adopt  their  immoral  statecraft  soon  raised  against  him  and  his 
teachings,  especially  in  the  North,  a  storm  of  protest  and  denun- 
ciation which  has  not  yet  subsided.  INIachiavelli  found  disciples 
enough,  however,  so  that  his  work  had  a  vast  though  malign 
influence  in  molding  the  political  morality  of  the  si.xteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries. 


362 


GROWTH  OF  THE  NATIONS 


[§526 


526.  Savonarola  (1452-1498).    A  further  word  must  here  be 
added   respecting   the   Florentine  monk  and   reformer   Girolamo 

Savonarola,  the  last  great  mediaeval 
forerunner  of  the  religious  reformers  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  Savonarola  was 
at  once  Roman  censor  and  Hebrew 
prophet.  His  powerful  preaching 
alarmed  the  conscience  of  the  Floren- 
tines. At  his  suggestion  the  women 
brought  their  finery  and  ornaments, 
and  others  their  beautiful  works  of 
art,  and,  piling  them  in  great  heaps  in 
the  streets  of  Florence,  burned  them  as 
vanities.  Savonarola  even  urged  that 
the  government  of  Florence  be  made  a 
theocracy  and  that  Christ  be  pro- 
claimed king.  But  finally  the  activity 
of  his  enemies  brought  about  the  reformer's  downfall,  and  he  was 
condemned  to  death,  strangled,  his  body  burned,  and  the  ashes 
thrown  into  the  Arno. 


Fu;.  102.  Savonarola.  (Por- 
trait hyFra  Bartoloinmco) 


References,  (i)  Works  of  a  general  character  :  GuizoT,  F.  P.  G.,  History  of 
Civilization  in  Europe,  lects.  ix  and  xi.  Adams,  G.  B.,  Civilization  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  chaps,  xiii  and  xiv.  Emerton,  E.,  The  Beginnings  of  Modern  Europe. 

(2)  National  histories:  Green,  J.  R.,  History  of  the  English  People,  parts  of 
vols,  i  and  ii.  Henderson,  E.  F.,  Histoiy  of  Genu  any  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
Hassall,  a.,  The  Erench  People.  Hume,  M.  A.  S.,  The  Spanish  People.  The 
"  Story  of  the  Nations  "  series  contains  convenient  volumes  on  each  of  the 
chief  European  states. 

(3)  Biographies  and  books  on  .special  topics:  Lowell,  F.  Cfoan  of  Are. 
Tkevelyan,  G.  M.,  England  in  the  Age  of  Wycliffe  (the  best  account  of  the 
Peasants' Revolt).  Poole,  R.  C.,  Wycliffe  and  Movements  for  Reform.  Gasquet, 
F.  A.,  The  Great  Pestilence.  Smith,  J.  II.,  The  Troubadours  at  Home,  2  vols. 
Mrs.  Oliphant,  The  Makers  of  Elorence.  Lea,  II.  C,  A  Histo7y  of  the  Im/ui- 
sition  in  the  Middle  Ages,  3  vols.  Prescott,  W.  II.,  Historyi  of  the  Keign  of 
Eerdinand  and  Isabella.  Irving,  W.,  The  Conquest  of  Gra?iada.  Clark,  W., 
.Savonarola.  In  the  "  Heroes  of  the  Nations"  series  are  to  be  found  separate 
biographies  of  many  of  the  great  characters  of  the  period  under  review. 


CHAPTER  LII 
THE  RENAISSANCE 

527.  The  Renaissance  defined.  By  the  term  Renaissance 
("New  Birth"),  used  in  its  narrower  sense,  is  meant  that  new 
enthusiasm  for  classical  literature,  learning,  and  art  which  sprang 
up  in  Italy  toward  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  which 
during  the  course  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  gave 
a  new  culture  to  Europe. 

528.  Inciting  Causes  of  the  Movement  in  Italy.  Just  as  the 
Reformation  went  forth  from  Germany  and  the  Political  Revolu- 
tion from  France,  so  did  the  Renaissance  go  forth  from  Italy. 
One  circumstance  that  doubtless  contributed  to  make  Italy  the 
birthplace  of  the  Renaissance  was  the  fact  that  in  Italy  the  break 
between  the  old  and  the  new  civilization  was  not  so  complete  as  it 
was  in  the  other  countries  of  western  Europe.  The  Italians  were 
closer  in  language  and  in  blood  to  the  old  Romans  than  were  the 
other  new-forming  nations.  The  cities  themselves  were,  in  a  very 
exact  sense,  fragments  of  the  old  Empire ;  and  everywhere  in  the 
peninsula  the  ground  was  covered  with  ruins  of  the  old  Roman 
builders.  The  influence  which  these  reminders  of  a  great  past 
exerted  upon  sensitive  souls  is  well  illustrated  by  the  biographies 
of  such  men  as  Rienzi  and  Petrarch.  y 

529.  The  Two  Phases  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  The 
Renaissance  in  Italy  consisted  of  two  distinct  yet  closely  related 
phases,  namely,  the  revival  of  classical  literature  and  learning,  and 
the  revival  of  classical  art.  The  literary  phase  of  the  movement  is 
called  "Humanism,"  and  the  promoters  of  it  are  known  as 
"Humanists,"  because  of  their  interest  in  the  study  of  the  classics, 
the  litera:  humaniores,  or  the  "more  human  letters,"  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  diviner  letters,  that  is,  theology,  which  made  up 
the  old  education. 


364 


THE  RENAISSAxNCE 


L§530 


530.  Dante  as  a  Forerunner  of  the  Renaissance.  Dante 
Alighieri,  "the  fame  of  the  Tuscan  people,"  was  born  at  Florence 
in  1265.  He  was  exiled  by  the  Florentines  in  1302,  and  at  the 
courts  of  friends  learned  how  hard  a  thing  it  is  "to  climb  the 
stairway  of  a  patron."    He  died  at  Ravenna  in   132 1,  and  his 

tomb  there  is  a  place  of 
pilgrimage  today. 

It  was  during  the  years 
of  his  exile  that  Dante 
wrote  his  immortal  poem, 
the  Comtncdia  as  named 
by  himself,  because  of  its 
happy  ending ;  the  Di- 
viiia  Commedia,  "Divine 
Comedy,"  as  his  admirers 
have  entitled  it.  This 
poem  has  been  called  the 
"Epic  of  Mediaevalism." 
It  is  an  epitome  of  the 
life  and  thought  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  But  al- 
though Dante  viewed  the 
world  from  a  standpoint 
which  was  substantially 
that  of  the  mediaeval  age 
which  was  passing  away, 
still  he  was  in  a  profound 
sense  a  prophet  of  the  new  age  which  was  approaching, — a  fore- 
runner of  the  Renaissance.  He  was  such  in  his  feeling  for  classi- 
cal antiquity.  He  speaks  lovingly  of  the  poet  Vergil  as  his 
teacher  and  master,  the  one  from  whom  he  took  the  beautiful 
style  that  had  done  him  honor.  His  modern  attitude  toward 
Grseco- Roman  culture  is  further  shown  in  his  free  use  of  the  works 
of  the  classical  writers ;  the  illustrative  material  of  his  great  poem 
is  drawn  almost  as  largely  from  classical  as  from  Hebrew  and 
Christian  sources. 


"i(,.  103.    Dante.    (From  a  portrait  by 
S.  Tofanelli) 


§531]     PETRARCH,  FIRST  OF  THE  HUMANISTS        365 


531.  Petrarch,  the  First  of  the  Humanists.  But  the  first  and 
greatest  of  the  humanists  was  Petrarch  (1304-1374).  To  under- 
stand Petrarch  is  to  understand  the  Renaissance.  He  was  the 
first  scholar  of  the  mediaeval  time  who  fully  realized  and  appre- 
ciated the  supreme  excellence  and  beauty  of  the  classical  literature 
and  its  value  as  a  means 
of  culture.  His  enthusi- 
asm for  the  ancient  writ- 
ers was  a  sort  of  worship. 
At  great  cost  of  time  and 
labor  he  made  a  collec- 
tion of  about  two  hun- 
dred manuscript  volumes 
of  the  classics.  Among 
his  choicest  Latin  treas- 
ures were  Cicero's  letters 
to  .\tticus,  whch  he  had 
himself  discovered  in  an 
old  library  and  had  rev- 
erently copied  with  his 
own  hand.  He  could  not 
read  Greek,  yet  he  gath- 
ered Greek  as  well  as 
Latin  manuscripts.  He 
had  sixteen  works  of 
Plato  and  a  revered  copy 
of  Homer  sent  him  from 

Constantinople ;  and  thus,  as  he  himself  expressed  it,  the  first 
of  poets  and  the  first  of  philosophers  took  up  their  abode  with 
him.  Often  he  wrote  letters  to  the  old  worthies, —  Homer,  Cicero, 
Vergil,  and  the  rest, —  for  Petrarch  loved  thus  to  record  his 
thoughts,  and  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  recreation  of  letter 
writing ;  for  recreation,  and  life  itself,  letter  writing  was  to  him. 

Petrarch's  enthusiasm  for  the  classical  authors  became  conta- 
gious. Fathers  reproached  him  for  enticing  their  sons  from  the 
study  of  the  law  to  the  reading  of  the  classics  and  the  writing  of 


Fig.  104. 


I'liTKAKCii.   (From  a  portrait  by 
.S;  TofaiicUi) 


366  THE  RENAISSANCE  [§  5:v2 

Latin  verses.  But  the  movement  started  by  Petrarch  could  not 
be  checked.  The  impulse  he  imparted  to  humanistic  studies  is 
still  felt  in  the  world  of  letters  and  learning. 

532.  The  Search  for  Old  Manuscripts.  The  first  concern  of 
the  disciples  of  Petrarch  was  to  rescue  from  threatened  oblivion 
what  yet  remained  of  the  ancient  classics.  Just  as  the  antiquarians 
of  today  dig  over  the  mounds  of  Babylonia  for  relics  of  the  ancient 
civilization  of  the  East,  so  did  the  humanists  ransack  the  libraries 
of  the  monasteries  and  cathedrals  and  search  through  all  the  out-of- 
the-way  places  of  Europe  for  old  manuscripts  of  the  classic  writers. 

The  precious  manuscripts  were  often  discovered  in  a  shameful 
state  of  neglect  and  in  advanced  stages  of  decay.  Sometimes  they 
were  found  covered  with  mold  in  damp  cells  or  loaded  with  dust 
in  the  attics  of  the  monasteries.  This  late  search  of  the  humanists 
for  the  works  of  the  ancient  authors  saved  to  the  world  many 
precious  manuscripts  which,  a  little  longer  neglected,  would  have 
been  forever  lost. 

533.  How  the  Fall  of  Constantinople  aided  the  Revival.  The 
humanistic  movement  was  given  a  great  impulse  by  the  disasters 
which  in  the  fifteenth  century  befell  the  Eastern  Empire.  Con- 
stantinople, it  will  be  recalled,  was  captured  by  the  Ottoman  Turks 
in  1453.  But  for  a  half  century  before  that  event  the  threatening 
advance  of  the  barbarians  had  caused  a  great  migration  of  Greek 
scholars  to  the  West.  These  fugitives  brought  with  them  many 
valuable  manuscripts  of  the  ancient  Greek  classics  still  unknown 
to  Western  scholars.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Italians  for  every- 
thing Greek  led  to  the  appointment  of  many  of  the  exiles  as 
teachers  in  their  schools  and  universities.  Thus  there  was  now  a 
repetition  of  what  took  place  at  Rome  in  the  days  of  the  later 
republic ;  Italy  was  conquered  a  second  time  by  the  genius  of 
Greece. 

534.  The  Invention  of  Printing.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century  the  work  of  the  Italian  humanists  was  greatly 
furthered  by  the  happy  and  timely  invention  of  the  art  of  print- 
ing from  movable  letters,  the  most  important  discovery,  in  the 
estimation  of  Hallam,  recorded  in  the  annals  of  mankind. 


§534] 


THE  INVENTIOX  OF  PRIXTIXG 


367 


The  making  of  impressions  by  means  of  engraved  and  lettered 
seals  or  blocks  seems  to  be  a  device  as  old  as  civilization.  The 
Chinese  have  practiced  this  form  of  printing  from  an  early  time. 
The  art,  however,  appears  to  have  sprung  up  independently  in 
mediaeval  Europe.  During  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century 
many  entire  books  were  produced  by  the  block-printing  method. 


Fui.  105.    The  I'iuxiinc;  ok  Books.    (From  Early  Vencliaii  J'ri/i/i/io) 


But  printing  from  blocks  was  slow  and  costly.  The  art  was 
revolutionized  by  John  Gutenberg  (1400-1468),  a  native  of  Mainz 
in  Germany,  through  the  invention  of  the  movable  letters  which  we 
call  type.  The  oldest  book  known  to  have  been  printed  from 
movable  letters  was  a  Latin  copy  of  the  Bible  issued  from  the 
press  of  Gutenberg  and  Faust  at  Mainz  between  the  years  1454  and 
1456.  The  art  spread  rapidly,  and  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century  presses  were  busy  in  every  country  of  Europe  —  in  the 
city  of  Venice  alone  there  were  about  two  hundred  printing  houses, 
among  which  was  the  celebrated  Aldine  Press — multiplying  books 
with  a  rapidity  undreamed  of  by  the  patient  copyists  of  the 
cloister. 


368 


THE  RENAISSANCE 


[§535 


535.  The  Artistic  Revival;  the  four  Master  Painters.    As 

we  have  already  seen,  the  new  feeling  for  classical  antiquity  awak- 
ened among  the  Italians  embraced  not  simply  the  literary  side 
of  the  Grreco-Roman  culture  but  the  artistic  side  as  well.  Respect- 
ing this  latter  phase  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  our  space  allows 
only  a  few  words. 

In  architecture  it  was  the  Greek  and  Roman  styles  of  building 
which  were  revived.    The  Roman  dome  and  circular  arch,  and  the 

Greek  architrave,  or  the  horizontal 
beam  covering  columns,  windows, 
and  doors,  now  took  the  place  of 
the  Gothic  pointed  arch  and  be- 
came the  dominant  forms.  One  of 
the  most  impressive  of  Renaissance 
sacred  buildings  is  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome.^  The  great  dome  which 
crowns  the  building  was  the  work 
of  Michael  Angelo. 

But  the  characteristic  art  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance  was  painting. - 
The  four  supreme  master  painters 
were  Leonardo  da  Vinci  (1452- 
15 19),  whose  masterpiece  is  his 
Lust  Supper,  on  the  wall  of  a  convent  at  Milan ;  Raphael  (1483- 
1520),  the  best  beloved  of  artists,  whose  Madonnas  are  counted 
among  the  world's  treasures;  Michael  Angelo  (1475-1564),  whose 
best  paintings  are  his  wonderful  frescoes,  among  them  the  Last 
Judgment  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  at  Rome;  and  Titian  (1477- 
1576),  the  Venetian  master,  celebrated  for  his  portraits,  which 
have  preserved  for  us  in  flesh  and  blood,  so  to  speak,  many  of  the 
most  noteworthy  personages  of  his  time. 

'  Other  important  examples  of  Renaissance  architecture  are  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in 
London,  the  Louvre  in  I'aris,  and  the  liscorial  in  .Spain. 

-  Vet  sculpture  was  not  without  eminent  representatives.  The  following  names  are 
especially  noteworthy :  Cihiberti  (137.S-1453),  whose  genius  is  shown  in  his  celebrated 
bronze  gates  of  the  IJaptistery  at  Florence,  of  which  Michael  Angelo  said  that  they 
were  worthy  to  be  the  gates  of  paradise;  Urunellcschi  (1377-1444),  Donatello  (13S6- 
1466),  and  Michael  Angelo  (1475-1564). 


Fk;.  106.    Rai'ilmcl 


§536]       EFFECTS  OF  THE  CLASSICAL  REVIVAL  369 

The  earlier  Italian  painters  drew  their  subjects  chiefly  from 
Christian  sources.  They  literally  covered  the  walls  of  the  churches, 
palaces,  and  civic  buildings  of  Italy  with  pictorial  representations 
of  all  the  ideas  and  imaginings  of  the  mediaeval  ages  respecting 
death,  the  judgment,  heaven,  and  hell.  The  later  artists,  more 
under  the  influence  of  the  classical  revival,  mingled  freely  pagan 
and  Christian  subjects  and  motives,  and  thus  became  truer  repre- 
sentatives than  their  predecessors  of  the  Renaissance  movement,^ 
one  important  issue  of  which  was  to  be  the  blending  of  pagan  ^ 
and  Christian  culture.  / 

536.  Effects  of  the  Classical  Revival  on  Education  and  Gen- 
eral Culture.  The  classical  revival  revolutionized  education. 
Under  its  influence  chairs  in  both  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages 
and  literatures  were  now  established,  not  only  in  the  new  univer- 
sities which  arose  under  the  inspiration  of  the  New  Learning,  but 
also  in  the  old  ones.  The  Scholastic  method  of  instruction,  of 
which  we  spoke  in  a  preceding  chapter,  was  gradually  superseded 
by  this  so-called  classical  system  of  education,  which  dominated 
the  schools  and  universities  of  the  world  down  to  the  incoming  of 
the  scientific  studies  of  the  present  day. 

The  classical  revival  gave  to  Europe  not  only  faultless  literary 
models  but  also  large  stores  of  valuable  knowledge.  As  President 
Woolsey  says  :  "The  old  civilization  contained  treasures  of  perma- 
nent value  which  the  world  could  not  spare,  which  the  world  will 
never  be  able  or  willing  to  spare.  These  were  taken  up  into  the 
stream  of  life,  and  proved  true  aids  to  the  progress  of  a  culture 
which  is  gathering  in  one  the  beauty  and  truth  of  all  the  ages." 

References.  The  literature  on  the  Renaissance  is  very  extensive  ;  we  shall 
suggest  only  a  few  titles.  Svmoxds,  J.  A.,  The  Renaissance  in  Itah\  ~  vols,  (the 
best  extended  history  in  English).  Burckhardt,  J.,  77/,?  Civilization  of  the 
Renaissance  in  Italy  (philosophical  and  suggestive).  Field,  L.  F.,  An  IntroJuc- 
tion  to  the  Study  of  the  Renaissance.  Mrs.  Oliphant,  Makers  of  Florence  and 
Makers  of  Venice.  Adams,  G.  B.,  CiTilizaiion  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  xv. 
Emkrton,  E.,  7^he  Beginnings  of  Modern  Jliirofe. chap. ix.  Grimm,  II.,  The  Life 
of  Michael  Angela,  z  vols.    RoBlNSON,  J.  H.,  and  Rolfe,  H.  W.,  Petrarch. 


DIVISION  II.    THE  MODERN  AGE 

THIRD  PERIOD.     THE  ERA  OF  THE 
REFORMATION 

(From  the  Discovery  of  America,  in  1492,  to  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648) 

CHAPTER  LIII 

GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  AND  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF 
MODERN  COLONIZATION 

537.  Transition  from  the  Mediaeval  to  the  Modern  Age. 
The  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  in  1492,  is  often  used 
to  mark  the  end  of  the  INliddle  Ages  and  the  beginning  of  modern 
times;  and  this  was  an  event  of  such  transcendent  importance — 
the  effect  upon  civilization  of  the  opening  up  of  fresh  continents 
was  so  great — that  this  honor  may  very  properly  be  accorded 
the  achievement  of  the  Genoese.  Yet  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  no  single  achievement  or  event  actually  marks  the  end 
of  the  old  order  of  things  and  the  beginning  of  the  new.  The 
finding  of  the  New  World  did  not  make  the  new  age;  the  new 
age  discovered  the  New  World.  The  undertaking  of  Columbus 
was  the  natural  outcome  of  that  spirit  of  commercial  enterprise 
and  scientific  curiosity  which  for  centuries  —  ever  since  the  Cru- 
sades—  had  been  gradually  expanding  the  scope  of  mercantile 
adventure  and  broadening  the  horizon  of  the  European  world. 
His  fortunate  expedition  was  only  one  of  several  brilliant  nautical 
exploits  which  distinguished  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  and  the 
opening  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

This  same  period  was  also  marked  by  significant  intellectual, 
political,  and  religious  movements,  movements  of  world  import, 

370 


§538]  MARITIME  EXPLORATIONS  371 

v/hich  indicated  that  civilization  was  about  to  enter — indeed, 
had  already  entered — upon  a  new  phase  of  its  development.^ 

Closely  connected  with  these  movements  were  three  great 
inventions  which,  like  the  inventions  of  our  own  time,  were  also 
signs  of  a  new  age,  and  which  powerfully  helped  on  the  mental 
and  social  revolutions.  Thus  the  intellectual  revival  and  the 
religious  reform  were  greatly  promoted  by  the  new  art  of  printing; 
the  kings  in  their  struggle  with  the  nobles  were  materially  aided  by 
the  use  of  gunpowder,  which  rendered  useless  costly  armor  and 
fortified  castle  and  helped  to  replace  the  feudal  levy  by  a  regular 
standing  army,  the  prop  and  bulwark  of  the  royal  power;  while 
the  great  ocean  voyages  of  the  times  were  rendered  possible  only  by 
the  improvement  of  the  mariner's  compass,-  whose  trusty  guidance 
emboldened  the  navigator  to  quit  the  shore  and  push  out  upon 
hitherto  untraversed  seas. 

538.  Maritime  Explorations;  the  Terrors  of  the  Ocean.  To 
appreciate  the  greatness  of  the  achievements  of  the  navigators  and 
explorers  of  the  age  of  geographical  discovery,  we  need  to  bear 
in  mind  with  what  terrors  the  medieval  imagination  had  invested 
the  unknown  regions  of  the  earth.  In  the  popular  conception  these 
parts  were  haunted  by  demons  and  dragons  and  monsters  of  every 
kind.  The  lands  were  shrouded  in  eternal  mists  and  darkness. 
The  seas  were  filled  with  awful  whirlpools  and  treacherous  currents, 
and  shallowed  into  vast  marshes.  Out  in  the  Atlantic,  so  a  popular 

1  The  truest  representative  of  the  intellectual  revival  on  its  scientific  side  was 
Nicholas  Copernicus  (1473-1543),  who,  while  Columbus  and  others  were  exploring 
the  earth's  unknown  seas  and  opening  up  a  new  hemisphere  for  civilization,  was 
exploring  the  heavens  and  discovering  the  true  system  of  the  universe.  He  had 
fully  matured  his  theory  by  the  year  1507,  but  fearing  the  charge  of  heresy  he  did 
not  publish  the  great  work  embodying  his  view  until  thirty-six  years  later  (in  1543). 
It  should  be  carefully  noted,  however,  that  the  Copernican  theory  had  little  influence 
on  the  thought  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  was  denounced  as  contrary  to  ."Scripture 
by  both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  and  was  almost  universally  rejected  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years  after  its  first  publication. 

-  It  is  a  disputed  question  as  to  what  people  should  be  given  the  credit  of  the 
discover)'  of  the  properties  of  the  magnetic  needle.  In  a  very  primitive  form  the  com- 
pass was  certainly  in  use  among  the  Chinese  as  early  as  the  eighth  centur)-  of  our  era. 
There  is  no  reliable  record  of  its  use  by  European  navigators  before  about  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  It  seems  most  probable  that  a  knowledge  of  the  instrument 
was  gained  in  the  East  by  the  crusaders. 


372  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  [§539 

superstition  taught,  was  the  mouth  of  hell ;  the  red  glow  cast  upon 
the  sun  at  its  setting  was  held  to  be  positive  evidence  of  this.  Away 
to  the  south,  under  the  equator,  there  was  believed  to  be  an  im- 
passable belt  of  fire.  This  was  a  very  persistent  idea,  and  was  not 
dispelled  until  men  had  actually  sailedbeyondtheequatorial  regions. 

539.  Portuguese  Explorations ;  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator. 
Many  incentives  concurred  to  urge  daring  navigators  in  the  later 
mediaeval  time  to  undertake  voyages  of  discovery,  but  a  chief 
motive  was  a  desire  to  find  a  water  way  that  should  serve  as  a 
new  trade  route  between  Europe  and  the  Indies. 

The  first  attempts  to  reach  these  lands  by  an  all-sea  route 
were  made  by  sailors  feeling  their  way  down  the  western  coast  of 
the  African  continent.  The  favorable  situation  of  Portugal  upon 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  caused  her  to  become  foremost  in  these 
enterprises.  Throughout  the  fifteenth  century  Portuguese  sailors 
w-ere  year  after  year  penetrating  a  little  farther  into  the  myste- 
rious tropical  seas  and  uncovering  new  reaches  of  the  western 
coast  of  Africa.  The  soul  and  inspiration  of  all  this  maritime 
enterprise  was  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  (i 394-1 460). 

In  the  year  1442  the  Portuguese  mariners  reached  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea,  and  here  discovered  the  home  of  the  true  negro. 
Some  of  the  ebony-skinned  natives  were  carried  to  Portugal  as 
slaves.  This  was  the  begiiming  of  the  modern  African  slave 
trade.  The  traffic  was  at  first  approved  by  even  the  most  philan- 
thropic persons,  on  the  ground  that  the  certain  conversion  of  the 
slaves  under  Christian  masters  would  more  than  compensate  them 
for  their  loss  of  freedom. 

Finally,  in  i486,  Bartholomew  Dias  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
most  southern  point  of  the  continent,  which,  as  the  possibility  of 
reaching  India  by  sea  now  seemed  assured,  was  later  given  the 
name  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But  at  the  same  time  it  was  a  dis- 
appointment to  the  Portuguese  to  find  that  Africa  extended 
so  far  to  the  south.  Even  should  India  be  reached,  the  way,  it 
was  now  known,  would  be  long  and  dangerous.  This  knowledge 
stimulated  efforts  to  reach  the  Indies  and  the  "place  of  spices" 
by  a  different  and  shorter  route. 


§540] 


COLUMBUS 


373 


540.  Columbus  in  Search  of  a  Westward  Route  to  the  Indies 
finds  the  New  World  (1492).  It  was  Christopher  Columbus,  a 
Genoese  by  birth,  who  now  proposed  the  bold  plan  of  reaching 
these  Eastern  lands  by  sailing  westward.  The  sphericity  of  the 
earth  was  a  doctrine  held  by  all  the  really  learned  men  of  this 
time.  But  while  agreed 
as  to  the  globular  form 
of  the  earth  and  as  to 
the  curvature  of  both 
the  land  and  the  water 
surface,  scholars  dif- 
fered as  to  the  propor- 
tion of  land  and  water. 
The  common  opinion 
among  them  was  that 
by  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  earth's  surface 
was  water.  Some,  how- 
ever, believed  that  three 
fourths  or  even  more 
of  its  surface  was  land, 
and  that  only  a  nar- 
row ocean  separated  the 
western  shores  of  Eu- 
rope from  the  eastern 
shores  of  Asia.  Colum- 
bus held  this  latter  view  and  also  shared  with  others  a  miscon- 
ception as  to  the  size  of  the  earth,  supposing  it  to  be  much 
smaller  than  it  really  is.  Consequently  he  felt  sure  that  a  west- 
ward sail  of  three  or  four  thousand  miles  would  bring  him  to  the 
Indies.  Thus  his  very  misconceptions  fed  his  hopes  and  drew  him 
on  to  his  great  discovery. 

Everybody  knows  how  Columbus  in  his  endeavors  to  secure 
a  patron  for  his  enterprise  met  at  first  with  repeated  repulse 
and  disappointment;  how  at  last  he  gained  the  ear  of  Queen 
Isabella  of  Castile;  how  a  fleet  of  three  small  vessels  was  fitted 


Fi(!.  107.    Christopher  Coi.umhus.  (After 

the   Capriolo  portrait ;    from   the    Columbus 

Memorial  Volume) 


374  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  [§54l 

out  for  the  explorer ;  with  what  difficulty  he  kept  his  crew  to  their 
undertaking ;  and  how  the  New  World  was  discovered,  or  rather 
rediscovered  ( sect.  408 ) . 

The  return  of  Columbus  to  Spain  with  his  vessels  loaded  with 
the  strange  animal  and  vegetable  products  of  the  new  lands  he 
had  found,  together  with  several  specimens  of  the  inhabitants, — 
a  race  of  men  new  to  Europeans, — produced  the  profoundest 
sensation  among  all  classes.  Curiosity  was  unbounded.  The  spirit 
of  hazardous  enterprise  awakened  by  the  surprising  discovery  led 
to  those  subsequent  undertakings  by  Castilian  adventurers  which 
make  up  the  most  thrilling  pages  of  Spanish  history. 

Columbus  made  all  together  four  voyages  to  the  new  lands ; 
still  he  died  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  he  had  really  discov- 
ered a  new  world.  .  He  supposed  the  land  he  had  found  to  be 
some  part  of  the  Indies,  whence  the  name  West  Indies  which 
still  clings  to  the  islands  between  North  and  South  America,  and 
the  term  Indians  applied  to  the  aborigines.  It  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  that  it  became  fully  estab- 
lished that  a  great  new  double  continent,  separated  from  Asia  by 
an  ocean  wider  than  the  Atlantic,  had  been  found. 

541.  The  Voyage  of  Vasco  da  Gama  (1497-1498) ;  the 
Portuguese  create  a  Colonial  Empire  in  the  East.  We  have  seen 
that  by  the  year  i486  the  Portuguese  navigators,  in  their  search  for 
an  ocean  route  to  the  Indies,  had  reached  the  southern  point  of 
Africa.  A  little  later,  only  six  years  after  the  voyage  of  Columbus, 
Vasco  da  Gama,  a  Portuguese  admiral,  doubled  the  Cape,  crossed 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  landed  on  the  coast  of  Malabar. 

The  discovery  of  an  unbroken  water  path  to  India  effected 
most  important  changes  in  the  trade  routes  and  traffic  of  the 
world.  It  made  the  port  of  Lisbon  the  depot  of  the  Eastern 
trade.  The  merchants  of  Venice  were  ruined.  The  great  ware- 
houses of  Alexandria  were  left  empty.  The  old  route  to  the 
Indies  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea,  which  had  been  from  time  imme- 
morial a  main  line  of  communication  between  the  Far  East  and 
the  Mediterranean  lands,  now  fell  into  disuse,  not  to  be  reopened 
until  the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal  in  our  own  day. 


§542]         THE  PAPAL  LINE  OF  DEMARCATION  375 

Portugal  dotted  the  coasts  of  Africa  and  Asia,  the  Moluccas 
and  other  islands  of  the  Pacific  archipelago,  with  fortresses  and 
trading  stations,  and  built  up  in  these  parts  a  great  commercial 
empire,  and,  through  the  extraordinary  impulse  thus  given  to  the 
enterprise  and  ambition  of  her  citizens,  now  entered  upon  the  most 
splendid  era  of  her  history. 

542.  The  Papal  Line  of  Demarcation.  Upon  the  return  of 
Columbus  from  his  successful  expedition,  Pope  Alexander  VI, 
with  a  view  to  adjusting  the  conflicting  claims  of  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal, issued  a  bull  wherein  he  drew  from  pole  to  pole  a  line  of  demar- 
cation through  the  Atlantic  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores 
(the  line  was  afterwards  moved  two  hundred  and  seventy  leagues 
westward)^  and  awarded  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  all  pagan  lands 
not  already  in  possession  of  Christian  princes,  that  their  subjects 
might  find  west  of  this  line,  and  to  the  Portuguese  kings  all  un- 
claimed pagan  lands  discovered  by  Portuguese  navigators  east 
of  the  designated  meridian.-  By  treaty  arrangements  as  well  as  by 
papal  edicts — which  were  based  on  the  theory  of  that  time  that 
the  ocean  like  the  land  might  be  appropriated  by  any  power  and 
absolute  control  over  it  asserted  — the  Portuguese  were  prohibited 
from  sailing  any  of  the  seas  thus  placed  under  the  dominion  of 
Spain  or  from  visiting  as  traders  any  of  her  lands,  and  the  Span- 
iards from  trespassing  upon  the  water  or  the  lands  granted  to  the 
Portuguese. 

Spain  was  thus  shut  out  from  the  use  of  the  Cape  route  to  the 
Indies  which  had  been  opened  up  by  Vasco  da  Gama,  and  con- 
sequently from  participation  in  the  coveted  spice  trade,  unless 
perchance  a  way  to  the  region  of  spices  could  be  found  through 
some  opening  in  the  new  lands  discovered  by  Columbus. 

1  One  result  of  ihis  change  was  to  throw  the  eastward  projecting  part  of  South 
America  (Brazil)  to  the  east  of  the  demarcation  line,  and  thus  to  make  it  a  Portuguese 
instead  of  a  Spanish  possession. 

'-  The  claim  of  the  popes  to  the  right  thus  to  dispose  of  pagan  lands  was  believed 
to  be  supported  by  such  Scripture  texts  as  this :  ''  Ask  of  me,  and  1  shall  give 
thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession"  (Psalms  ii.  8).  Spain  and  Portugal  recognized  this  claim,  but  the 
Catholic  sovereigns  in  general  only  in  so  far  as  it  coincided  with  their  interests 
to  do  so.    .•Xfter  the  Lutheran  revolt  the  Protestant  rulers  gave  no  heed  to  it. 


376  (^.EOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  |>5  543 

543.    The    Circumnavigation    of    the    Globe    by    Magellan 

(1519-1522).  Such  was  the  situation  of  things  when  Magellan 
laid  before  the  young  Emperor  Charles  V,  grandson  of  the  Isabella 
who  had  given  Columbus  his  commission,  his  plan  of  reaching 
the  Moluccas,  or  "  Spice  Islands,"  by  a  westward  voyage.  The 
young  king  looked  with  favor  upon  the  navigator's  plans  and 
placed  under  his  command  a  fleet  of  five  small  vessels. 

Magellan  directed  his  ships  in  a  southwesterly  course  across 
the  Atlantic,  hoping  to  find  toward  the  south  a  break  in  the  new- 
found lands.  Near  the  most  southern  point  of  South  America  he 
found  the  narrow  strait  that  now  bears  his  name.  Through  this 
channel  the  bold  sailor  pushed  his  vessels  and  found  himself  upon 
a  great  sea  with  a  blank  horizon  to  the  west.  From  the  calm, 
unruffled  face  of  the  new  ocean,  so  different  from  the  stormy 
Atlantic,  he  gave  to  it  the  name  Pacific. 

After  a  most  adventurous  voyage  upon  the  hitherto  untraversed 
waters  of  the  new  sea,  the  expedition  reached  the  group  of  islands 
now  known  as  the  Philippines,  having  been  so  named  in  honor 
of  Philip  II,  Charles'  son  and  his  successor  on  the  Spanish  throne. 
The  year  following  the  discovery  of  the  Philippines  a  single 
battered  ship  of  the  fleet,  the  Victoria,  with  eighteen  men  out 
of  the  original  crews  of  over  two  hundred  sailors,  entered  the 
Spanish  port  of  Seville.  The  globe  had  for  the  first  time  been  cir- 
cumnavigated. "In  the  whole  history  of  human  undertakings," 
says  Draper,  "there  is  nothing  that  exceeds,  if,  indeed,  there  is 
anything  that  equals,  this  voyage  of  Magellan's.  That  of  Colum- 
bus dwindles  away  in  comparison." 

Equally  does  the  exploit  seem  to  have  impressed  the  imagi- 
nation of  Magellan's  own  age.  The  old  writer  Richard  Eden 
(b.  about  1521)  refers  to  it  as  "a  thing  doubtless  so  strange  and 
marvelous  that,  as  the  like  was  never  done  before,  so  is  it  perhaps 
never  like  to  be  done  again;  so  far  have  the  navigations  of  the 
Spaniards  excelled  the  voyage  of  Jason  and  the  Argonauts  to  the 
region  of  Colchis,  or  all  that  ever  were  before";  and  a  Spanish 
contemporary  declares,  "Nothing  more  notable  in  navigation  has 
ever  been  heard^  of  since  the  voyage  of  the  patriarch  Noah." 


Dg  tlie  Equator 


EXPLORATIONS   AND    COLOIVIES 
OF  THE  1,5TH,  16TH,AND  17TII  CENTITRIES 

BRITISH  I 
SPANISH  I 


FRENCH 


2      DANISH  [  I 


PORTU«CESEr 


DUTCH  C 


British  and  French  Rival  Claims  | 

1  U.    NJ  WOSKS,  Buffalo 


3C 


Longitude      40        East     from      60      Greenwich       80 


§544] 


THE  OPENING  OF  A  NEW  EPOCH 


377 


The  results  of  the  achievement  were  greater  in  the  intellectual 
realm  than  in  the  commercial  or  the  political  domain.  It  revo- 
lutionized whole  systems  of  mediaeval  theory  and  belief;  it  pushed 
aside  old  narrow  geographical  ideas;  it  settled  forever  and  for  all 
men  the  question  as  to  the  shape  and  size  of  the  earth.  It  brought 
to  an  end  the  scholastic  controversy  concerning  the  antipodes, — 
that  is,  whether  there  were 
men  living  on  the  "under" 
side  of  the  earth.  The  state 
of  most  men's  minds  in  re- 
gard to  this  matter  had  till 
then  been  just  about  the 
same  as  is  ours  today  on 
the  question  whether  or  not 
the  planets  are  inhabited. 

544.  These  Voyages  and 
Geographical  Discoveries 
ushered  in  a  New  Epoch. 
By  some  geographers  civili- 
zation is  conceived  as  having 
passed  through  three  stages, 
—  the  potamic  (or  river) 
stage,  the  thalassic  (or  in- 
land sea)  stage,  and  the 
oceanic  stage.  In  the  case  of 
our  own  civilization,  whose 
beginnings  we  seek  in  Egypt 
and  Babylonia,  these  steps 

or  stages  seem  fairly  well  defined  and  mark  off  historical  times 
into  three  great  periods,  which  may  be  named  the  River  Epoch, 
the  Sea  Epoch,  and  the  Ocean  Epoch. 

The  River  Epoch  was  that  during  which  civilization,  in  its 
highest  development,  was  confined  to  river  valleys,  like  those  of  the 
Nile,  the  Tigris,  and  the  Euphrates.  The  chief  cities  of  this  period, 
as,  for  instance,  Memphis  and  Thebes  in  Egypt,  Nineveh  and 
Babylon  in  Mesopotamia,  arose  on  the  banks  of  great  streams. 


Fk;.  io8.    "The  Axtipodes  in  Deri- 
sion." (From  Cosmas,  Chn'sihui  Topog- 
raphy ;    after  Beazley,   TJie  Dawn  of 
Afodern  Geography) 

Cosmas  lived  in  the  sixth  Christian  century.  In 
the  cut  here  reproduced  from  his  Tofograpby, 
he  ridicules  the  idea  of  a  round  earth  with 
people  on  the  underside  whose  heads  hang 
downwards.  The  views  of  Cosmas  as  to  the 
existence  of  an  antipodal  people  had  defenders 
throughout  the  niedia:val  centuries 


378  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  [§545 

Rivers  were  the  pathways  of  commerce.  Boats  were  small  and 
frail,  and  the  art  of  sea  navigation  was  practically  unknown. 

The  Sea  Epoch  was  that  during  which  the  Mediterranean  was 
the  main  theater  of  civilization.  It  was  ushered  in  by  the 
Phoenicians,  the  first  skillful  sea  navigators.  From  the  river  banks 
the  seats  of  trade  and  population  were  transferred  to  or  near  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  Tyre  and  Sidon  and  Carthage 
and  Ephesus  and  Miletus  and  Byzantium  and  Corinth  and  Athens 
and  Rome  arose  and  played  their  parts  in  the  transactions  of  the 
thalassic  age.  So  largely  did  the  events  of  this  age  center  in  and 
about  the  Mediterranean  that  this  sea  has  been  aptly  called  the 
Forum  of  the  ancient  world. 

The  Ocean  Epoch  was  opened  up  by  the  voyages  and  geo- 
graphical discoveries  of  which  we  have  just  been  speaking.  In 
this  period  the  great  oceans  have  ceased  to  be  barriers  between 
the  nations  and  have  become  instead  the  natural  highways  of 
the  world's  intercourse  and  commerce.^ 

545.  The  Five  Early  Colonial  Empires.  One  of  the  most 
important  phases  of  the  earlier  history  of  this  Ocean  Epoch  was 
the  expansion  of  the  five  states  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  Europe 
—  namely,  Portugal,  Spain,  France,  the  Netherlands,  and  Eng- 
land—  each  into  a  great  empire,  embracing  colonies  and  depend- 
encies in  two  hemispheres.  This  expansion  of  Europe  into  Greater 
Europe  holds  somewhat  such  a  place  in  modern  history  as  the 
expansion  of  Hellas  into  Greater  Hellas  and  of  Rome  into  Greater 
Rome  holds  in  ancient  history. 

In  the  mutual  jealousies  and  the  conflicting  interests  of  these 
growing  colonial  empires  is  to  be  found  the  ground  and  cause 
of  many  of  the  great  wars  of  modern  times  since  the  close  of 
the  religious  wars  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
For  this  reason,  although  it  is  our  special  task  to  trace  the  lines 
of  the  historic  development  in  Europe,  we  shall  from  time  to 
time  call  the  reader's  attention  to  these  European  interests  out- 
side of  the  European  continent.     In  the  present  connection  a 

1  The  Ocean  ■Epoch  may  be  conceived  as  embracing  two  periods,  —  the  Atlantic 
and  the   Pacific  period.    The  latter  is  just  opening. 


§  546]  THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO  379 

few  words  in  regard  to  Spanish  conquests  and  the  beginnings 
of  Spanish  colonization  in  the  New  World  will  suffice. 

546.  The  Conquest  of  Mexico  (1519-1521).  The  accounts 
of  Spanish  explorations  and  conquests  in  the  lands  opened  up 
by  the  fortunate  voyage  of  Columbus  read  more  like  a  romance 
than  any  other  chapter  in  history.  Perhaps  the  most  brilliant 
exploit  in  which  the  Spanish  cavaliers  engaged  during  this  period 
of  daring  adventure  was  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  Reports  of  a 
rich  and  powerful  "Empire"  upon  the  mainland  to  the  west  were 
constantly  spread  among  the  Spanish  colonists  who  very  soon 
after  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  settled  the  islands  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  stories  inflamed  the  imagination  of  adven- 
turous spirits  among  the  settlers,  and  an  expedition,  consisting  of 
five  or  six  hundred  foot  soldiers  and  sixteen  horsemen,  was  organ- 
ized and  placed  under  the  command  of  Hernando  Cortes  for  the 
conquest  and  "conversion"  of  the  heathen  nation.  The  expedi- 
tion was  successful,  and  soon  the  Spaniards  were  masters  of  the 
greater  part  of  what  now  constitutes  the  republic  of  Mexico, 

The  state  that  the  conquerors  destroyed  was  not  an  empire, 
as  termed  by  the  contemporary  Spanish  chroniclers,  but  rather 
a  sort  of  league,  or  confederacy, — something  like  the  Iroquois 
confederacy  in  the  North, —  formed  of  three  Indian  tribes.^  Of 
these  the  Aztecs  were  the  leading  tribe  and  gave  name  to  the 
confederacy.  At  the  head  of  the  league  stood  a  sachem,  or  war- 
chief,  who  bore  the  name  of  ISIontezuma. 

The  Mexican  Indians  had  taken  some  steps  in  civilization. 
They  employed  a  system  of  picture  writing,  and  had  cities  and 
temples.  But  they  were  cannibals  and  offered  human  victims  in 
their  sacrifices.  They  had  no  knowledge  of  the  horse  or  the  ox, 
or  of  any  other  useful  domesticated  animal  except  the  dog.-  They 
cultivated  maize,  but  were  without  wheat,  oats,  or  barley. 

1  Prescott's  description  of  the  Mexican  state,  especially  as  to  its  political  organi- 
zation, is  misleading.    For  later  authorities  see  bibliography  at  end  of  the  chapter. 

2  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  backwardness  in  civilization  of  the  native  races  of 
the  Americas  is  to  be  attributed  in  part  to  their  lack  of  useful  tame  animals.  See  Fiske, 
The  Discovery  of  America,  vol.  i,  p.  27.  .Aside  from  the  llama,  the  alpaca,  and  the 
turkey,  the  new  world  has  contributed  nothing  of  essential  value  to  the  world's  great 
store  of  domesticated  stocks. 


38o  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES  L^547 

547.  The  Conquest  of  Peru  (1532-1536).  Shortly  after  the 
conquest  of  the  Indians  of  ISlexico  the  subjugation  of  the  Indians 
of  Peru  was  effected.  The  civiHzation  of  the  Peruvians  was  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  Mexicans.  It  has  been  compared,  as  to  several 
of  its  elements,  to  that  of  ancient  Assyria.  Not  only  were  the 
great  cities  of  the  empire  filled  with  splendid  temples  and  pal- 
aces, but  throughout  the  country  were  to  be  seen  magnificent 
works  of  public  utility,  such  as  roads,  bridges,  and  aqueducts. 
The  government  of  the  Incas,  the  royal  or  ruling  race,  was  a 
mild,  paternal  autocracy. 

Glowing  reports  of  the  enormous  wealth  of  the  Incas,  the 
commonest  articles  in  whose  palaces,  it  was  asserted,  were  of 
solid  gold,  reached  the  Spaniards  of  Uarien,'  and  it  was  not  long 
before  an  expedition,  consisting  of  less  than  two  hundred  men, 
was  organized  for  the  conquest  of  the  country.  The  leader  of 
the  band  was  Francisco  Pizarro,  an  iron-hearted,  cruel,  and 
illiterate  adventurer. 

Through  treachery  Pizarro  made  a  prisoner  of  the  Inca,  Ata- 
hualpa.  The  captive  offered,  as  a  ransom  for  his  release,  to  fill 
the  room  in  which  he  was  confined  ''as  high  as  he  could  reach" 
with  vessels  of  gold.  Pizarro  accepted  the  offer,  and  the  palaces 
and  temples  throughout  the  empire  were  stripped  of  their  golden 
vessels,  and  the  apartment  was  filled  with  the  precious  relics.  The 
value  of  the  treasure  is  estimated  at  over  ?  15,000,000.  When 
this  vast  wealth  was  once  under  the  control  of  the  Spaniards, 
they  seized  it  all,  and  then  treacherously  put  the  Inca  to  death 
(1533)-  With  the  death  of  Atahualpa  the  power  of  the  Inca 
dynasty  passed   away   forever. 

548.  Beginnings  of  Spanish  Colonization  in  the  New  World. 
Not  until  more  than  one  hundred  j'ears  after  the  discovery  of 
the  Western  Hemisphere  by  Columbus  was  there  established  a 
single  permanent  English  settlement  within  the  limits  of  what  is 
now  the  United  States;   but  into  those  parts  of  the  new  lands 

1  The  first  permanent  settlement  of  white  men  on  the  mainland  of  America,  and  the 
scene  of  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa's  career.  It  was  situated  in  the  easternmost  part  of 
what  is  now  the  Republic  of  Panama. 


§548]  SPANISH  COLONIZATION  381 

opened  up  by  Spanish  exploration  and  conquest  there  began  to 
pour  at  once  a  tremendous  stream  of  Spanish  adventurers  and 
colonists  in  search  of  fortune  and  fame.  Upon  the  West  India 
Islands,  in  Mexico,  in  Central  America,  all  along  the  Pacific  slope 
of  the  Andes,  and  everywhere  upon  the  lofty  and  pleasant  table- 
lands that  had  formed  the  heart  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas,  there 
sprang  up  rapidly  cities  as  centers  of  mining  and  agricultural 
industries,  of  commerce,  and  of  trade.  Often,  as  in  the  case  of 
Mexico,  Quito,  and  Cuzco,  these  new  cities  were  simply  the 
renovated  and  rebuilt  towns  of  the  conquered  natives. 

Thus  did  a  Greater  Spain  grow  up  in  the  New  World.  It  was, 
in  part,  the  treasures  derived  from  the  gold  and  silver  mines 
of  these  new  possessions  that  enabled  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  to 
play  the  important  part  they  did  in  the  affairs  of  Europe  during 
the  century  following  the  discovery  of  America.^ 

References.  Keank,  J.,  T/te  EvoInUon  o/Geograp/iy,c\).a.Y>s.\-\\n.  Beazley, 
C.  R.,  Prince  Henry  the  N'ai'igator.  There  are  numerous  lives  of  Columbus : 
Winsor's,  Irving's,  and  C.  K.  Adams'  are  recommended.  Guili.emard, 
F.  H.  H.,  TTie  Life  of  Ferdinand  Magellan.  Fiske,  J.,  The  Discoveiy  of  America, 
2  vols,  (there  is  not  a  chapter  here  that  will  fail  to  interest  and  charm  young 
readers).  The  Cambridge  Modern  History,  vol.  i,  chap,  i,  "  The  Age  of  Discov- 
ery"; and  chap,  ii,  "The  New  World."  Boirxe,  E.  G.,  Essays  itt  Historical 
Criticism,  Essay  No.  7,  "  The  Demarcation  Line  of  Pope  Alexander  VI  "  ;  and 
Spain  in  America  (1450-1580).  Prescott,  W.  H.,  Conquest  of  Mexico  and  Con- 
quest of  Peru  (should  be  read  with  later  works).  Payne,  E.  J.,  Histoiy  of  the 
At-TC  World  called  America,  vol.  i,  pp.  303-364  (for  the  relation  of  the  native 
civilizations  of  the  .Americas  to  their  animal  and  plant  life). 

1  After  having  robbed  the  Indians  of  tlieir  wealth  in  gold  and  silver,  the  slow  accu- 
mulations of  centuries,  the  .Spaniards  further  enriched  themselves  by  the  enforced  labor 
of  the  unfortunate  natives.  Unused  to  such  toil  as  was  exacted  of  them  under  the  lash  of 
worse  than  Egyptian  taskmasters,  the  Indians  wasted  away  by  millions  in  the  mines 
of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  upon  the  sugar  plantations  of  the  West  Indies.  More  than 
half  of  the  native  population  of  Peru  is  thought  to  have  been  consumed  in  the  Peruvian 
mines.  As  a  substitute  for  native  labor,  negroes  were  introduced.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  African  slave  trade  in  the  New  World.  .At  the  outset  the  traffic  was  ap- 
proved by  a  benevolent  bishop  named  Las  Casas  (1474-1566),  known  as  the  "Apostle 
of  the  Indians."  Before  his  death,  however,  Las  Casas  came  to  recognize  the  wicked- 
ness of  negro  as  well  as  of  Indian  slavery,  and  to  regret  that  he  had  ever  expressed 
approval  of  the  plan  of  substituting  one  for  the  other.  See  Fiske,  The  Discovery  of 
America,  vol.  ii,  pp.  454-458. 


382 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES 


[§  548 


Suggestion  to  Teachers  —  Comparative  Study 

In  no  way,  we  think,  will  the  teacher  be  able  to  give  his  pupils  so 
clear  an  idea  of  the  character  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  by  having 
them  make  a  comparative  study  of  that  century  and  the  nineteenth. 
The  striking  parallels  which  they  will  discover  between  the  two 
periods  will  be  sure  to  suggest  to  them  that  "the  wonderful  nine- 
teenth century,"'  as  it  is  called  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  like  the 
sixteenth,  may  be  a  transition  period,  a  period  which  will  be  regarded 
by  the  future  historian  as  we  regard  the  sixteenth, —  as  the  beginning 
of  a  new  age  in  history.  The  following  will  suggest  in  what  realms 
parallels  may  be  sought. 


The  Sixteenth  Century 


The  New  Learnin 
lectual  activity. 

The  Reformation.  Revi.sion  of 
creeds.  Relation  of  the  religiou.s 
movement  to  the  Renaissance. 


The  Nineteenth  Century 

Great  intel- 


Great  intel-       tr.  The   New   Sciences, 
lectual  activity. 

The  New  Theology.  Disregard  of 
creeds.  Relation  of  this  move- 
ment to  the  birth  of  the  new 
scientific  spirit. 


c.  The  unification  of  preat  nations, — 
Kngland,  France,  Spain. 

f/.  The  expansion  of  Europe ;  the 
partition  of  the  New  \Vorid  and 
of  southern  Asia.  The  formation 
of  colonial  empires,  —  I'ortu- 
guese,  .Spanish,  Dutch,  Frcncli, 
and  English. 

c:  Great  geographical  and  astronom- 
ical discoveries  (('olumbus,  Co- 
pernicus), which  reveal  the  uni- 
verse as  infinite  in  space.  Man's 
conceptions  concerning  the  earth 
and  its  place  in  the  universe  rev- 
olutionized. 

/.  Great  inventions,  now  first  hit 
upon  or  brought  intogeneral  use, 
—  printing,  gunpowder,  and  the 
mariner's  compass.  Political, 
social,  and  economic  revolutions 
caused  or  promoted  by  them. 


, .  The  unification  of  great  nations,  — 
Germany,  Italy. 

(/.  The  expansion  of  Europe  ;  the  par- 
tition of  Africa  and  of  Oceania. 
The  formation  of  new  colonial 
empires, — English,  French,  Ger- 
man, lielgian.  and  American. 

/ .  ( 'treat  geological  and  biological  dis- 
coveries (/•^•oliiiion — Eyell,  Dar- 
win), which  reveal  the  universe 
as  infinite  in  /inw.  Man's  con- 
ceptions as  to  his  origin  and  his 
place  in  the  plan  of  creation 
revolutionized. 

/.  Great  inventions,  —  the  steam  rail- 
way, the  ocean  steamship,  the 
electric  telegraph,  electric  motor, 
etc.  Political,  social,  and  eco- 
nomic revolutions  caused  or 
furthered  by  their  introduction. 


CHAPTER  LIV 
THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION 

549.  Introductory  Statement.  When  the  Modern  Age  opened, 
the  European  peoples  were  on  the  eve  of  a  great  rehgious  revolution 
known  as  the  Reformation.  In  the  present  chapter  we  shall  speak 
of  the  causes  and  the  beginnings  of  this  revolution  in  Germany. 

550.  Extent  of  Rome's  Spiritual  Authority  at  the  Opening  of 
the  Sixteenth  Century.  In  a  preceding  chapter  on  the  Papacy 
it  was  shown  how  nearly  perfect  at  one  time  was  the  obedience 
of  the  West  not  only  to  the  spiritual  but  also  to  the  temporal 
authority  of  the  Pope.  It  was  also  shown  how  the  papal  claim 
of  the  right  to  a  certain  oversight  of  temporal  or  governmental 
affairs  was  practically  rejected  by  the  princes  and  sovereigns  of 
Europe  as  early  as  the  fourteenth  century  (sect.  461).  But  previ- 
ous to  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  there  had  been  com- 
paratively few — there  had  been  some,  like  the  Albigenses  in  the 
south  of  France,  the  Wyckliffites  in  England,  and  the  Hussites  in 
Bohemia — who  denied  the  supreme  and  infallible  authority  of 
the  bishops  of  Rome  in  matters  purely  religious.  Speaking  in  a 
very  general  manner,  it  would  be  correct  to  say  that  at  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century  all  the  nations  of  western  Europe  pro- 
fessed the  faith  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  yielded 
spiritual  obedience  to  the  Papal  See. 

551.  Causes  of  the  Reformation.  We  must  now  seek  the 
causes  which  led  one  half  of  the  nations  of  Europe  to  secede 
from  the  papal  Church.  There  were  various  causes.  One  cause 
was  the  Renaissance,  that  great  intellectual  awakening  which 
marked  the  close  of  the  mediaeval  and  the  opening  of  the  modern 
epoch.  The  promoters  of  the  New  Learning  and  the  upholders 
of  the  old  Scholastic  theology  came  into  collision,  and  this  helped 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  great  schism. 

383 


384  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [^552 

A  second  cause  of  the  revolution  was  the  existence  in  the 
Church  of  most  serious  scandals.  The  necessity  of  the  thorough 
reform  of  the  Church,  in  both  "head  and  members,"  was  recog- 
nized by  all  earnest  and  spiritually  minded  men.  The  only  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  such  was  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
work  of  renovation  should  be  effected,  whether  from  within  or 
from  without,  by  reform  or  by  revolution. 

A  third  cause  was  jealousy  of  the  Papacy  on  the  part  of  the 
temporal  princes.  It  is  true  that  the  claims  to  temporal  suprem- 
acy put  forward  by  some  of  the  mediaeval  popes  were  no  longer 
maintained  ;  still  there  remained  a  very  large  field  embracing  mat- 
ters such  as  appointment  or  nomination  to  Church  offices,  the 
taxation  of  the  clergy  and  of  Church  property,  questions  concern- 
ing marriages,  wills,  and  so  on,  which  the  popes  as  the  guardians 
of  religion  claimed  the  right  to  regulate  or  to  review.  Thus  the 
nations  were  really  very  far  from  being  independent.  As  respects 
many  matters  they  were  virtually  provinces  of  an  ecclesiastical 
world  empire  centered  at  Rome. 

But  foremost  among  the  proximate  causes,  and  the  actual 
occasion  of  the  revolution,  was  the  controversy  which  arose  about 
the  doctrine  of  Indulgences.  Hence  a  word  concerning  these  will 
be  necessary  to  render  intelligible  the  opening  episodes  of  the 
great  revolution. 

552.  Indulgences.  An  Indulgence,  as  understood  and  defined 
by  German  theologians  of  Luther's  time,  was  the  remission  of  that 
temporal  punishment  which  often  remains  due  on  account  of  sin 
after  its  guilt  has  been  forgiven.'  It  was  granted  on  the  perform- 
ance of  some  work  of  piety,  charity,  or  mercy,  which  often  included 
an  alms  to  the  poor  or  a  gift  of  money  to  promote  some  good 
work,  and  took  effect  only  upon  certain  conditions,  among  which 
was  that  of  confession  of  sin  and  sincere  repentance. 

Since  much  of  the  opposition  to  Indulgences  arose  from  their 
application  to  souls  in  purgatory  and  to  abuses  arising  in  this 
connection,  a  word  of  explanation  is  here  also  necessary. 

1  By  "temporal"  punishment  is  meant  penances  imposed  l)y  the  CJliiirch  and  the 
temporary  pains  of  purgatory,  as  opposed  to  the  denial  punishment  of  hell. 


§  553]         THE  PREACHING  OF  INDULGENCES  385 

According  to  Catholic  teaching,  the  other  world  embraces  three 
regions, — hell,  purgatory,  and  heaven.  This  belief  is  embodied 
in  the  great  poem  of  the  mediaeval  ages,  Dante's  Divine  Comedy. 
Purgatory  is  a  place  or  state  intermediate  between  heaven  and 
hell,  where  souls  destined  for  eternal  bliss  are  cleansed  through 
suffering.  This  belief  in  an  intermediate  place  of  punishment 
came  to  be  of  historical  significance  because,  according  to  Catholic 
doctrine,  souls  in  this  place  of  purification  can  be  helped  and 
their  probation  shortened  by  the  prayers  and  good  works  of  their 
surviving  friends  in  their  behalf.  Thus  Dante  on  the  terraces  of 
the  Mount  of  Purification  met  spirits  who  told  him  that  their 
allotted  time  of  suffering  had  been  shortened  by  the  mediatorial 
prayers  of  their  friends.  The  vast  endowments  of  the  mediaeval 
monasteries  were  in  large  part  given  that  Masses  might  be  said  for 
the  benefit  of  the  souls  of  the  donors.  But  not  only  were  interces- 
sory prayers  counted  capable  of  releasing  souls  from  purgatory ; 
the  Indulgence  also,  granted  in  virtue  of  the  good  works  or  alms 
of  friends,  operated  in  the  same  way  to  free  souls  from  their 
sufferings. 

Before  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  Indulgences  had  been 
frequently  granted  by  various  pontiffs,  with  different  objects 
in  view.  Thus,  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades  plenary^  Indulgences 
were  offered  to  all  who  assumed  the  cross.  Indulgences  were 
also  often  resorted  to  as  a  means  of  raising  money  for  the  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  churches,  convents,  and  bridges, 
and  for  other  local  undertakings.  A  great  part  of  the  money  for 
the  building  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  was  obtained  in  this  manner. 

553.  Tetzel  and  the  Preaching  of  Indulgences.  Leo  X,  upon 
his  election  to  the  papal  dignity  in  15 13,  found  the  coffers  of  the 
Church  almost  empty,  and  being  in  pressing  need  of  money  to 
carry  on  his  various  undertakings,  among  which  was  work  upon 
St.  Peter's,  he  had  recourse  to  the  common  expedient  of  a 
grant  of  Indulgences.  He  delegated  the  power  of  dispensing  these 
in  a  great  part  of  Germany  to  Archbishop  Albert  of  Mainz.    As 

1  A  plenary  or  full  indulgence  remits  to  a  penitent  the  whole  of  the  temporal 
punishment  to  which  he  is  liable  at  the  time  of  receiving  the  remission. 


386 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [§554 


his  deputy,  Albert  employed  a  Dominican  friar  by  the  name  of 
John  Tetzel.  The  archbishop  was  unfortunate  in  the  selection 
of  his  agent.  Tetzel  carried  out  his  commission  in  such  a  way 
as  to  give  rise  to  a  great  scandal.  The  language  that  he  and 
his  subordinates  used  in  exhorting  the  people  to  comply  with 

the  conditions  of  gaining 
the  Indulgences  —  one  of 
which  was  a  donation  of 
money — was  unseemly 
and  exaggerated. 

The  result  was  that 
erroneous  views  as  to 
the  effect  of  Indulgences 
began  to  spread  among 
the  ignorant  and  credu- 
lous, many  being  so  far 
misled  as  to  think  that 
if  they  only  contributed 
this  money  to  the  build- 
ing of  St.  Peter's  in 
Rome  they  would  be 
exempt  from  all  penalty 
for  sins,  paying  little 
heed  to  the  other  con- 
ditions, such  as  sorrow 
for  sin  and  purpose  of 
amendment.  Hence  seri- 
ous persons  were  led  to 
declaim  against  the  procedure  of  the  zealous  friar.  These  pro- 
tests were  the  near  mutterings  of  a  storm  that  had  long  been 
gathering,  and  that  was  soon  to  shake  all  Western  Christendom. 

554.  Martin  Luther  and  the  Ninety-Five  Theses.  Foremost 
among  those  who  opposed  and  denounced  the  methods  used  by 
Tetzel  was  Martin  Luther,  an  Augustinian  monk  and  teacher  of 
theology  in  the  University  of  Wittenberg.  This  great  reformer 
was  born  in  Saxony  in  1453.    He  was  of  humble  parenta.<;e,  his 


Fk;.   109.     Martin    Lutiikk.    (After   the 

portrait  by  Lucas  Cfanuch,  the  elder;  Uffizi 

Gallery,  Florence) 


§555]  LUTHER'S  ADDRESS  387 

father  being  a  poor  miner.  Before  Tetzel  appeared  in  Germany, 
Luther  had  already  earned  a  wide  reputation  for  learning  and  piety. 

When  Tetzel  began  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wittenberg  the 
preaching  of  Indulgences  in  the  scandalous  manner  to  which  we 
have  just  alluded,  Luther  was  greatly  distressed.  He  drew  up  in 
protest  ninety-five  theses  bearing  on  Indulgences,  and  nailed  them 
upon  the  door  of  the  castle  church  at  Wittenberg.  It  was  a  cus- 
tom of  those  times  for  a  scholar  thus  to  post  propositions  which  he 
was  willing  to  maintain  against  any  and  all  comers.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  theses  shows  that  Luther  at  this  time  still  held  the 
generally  accepted  view  both  as  to  purgatory  and  the  validity  of 
Indulgences,  and  that  his  protest  was  aimed  only  at  abuses. 

By  means  of  the  press  the  theses  were  spread  broadcast.  They 
were  eagerly  read  and  commented  upon  by  all  classes,  particularly 
in  Germany.  Tetzel  issued  counter-propositions.  The  air  was 
thick  with  controversial  leaflets.  At  first  Pope  Leo  had  been 
inclined  to  make  light  of  the  whole  matter,  but  at  length  he  felt 
constrained  to  take  decisive  measures  against  Luther.  The  monk 
was  to  be  silenced  by  means  of  a  papal  bull. 

555.  Luther's  "Address  to  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the 
German  Nation."  Luther  heard  that  the  bull  was  soon  to  be 
launched  against  him.  He  anticipated  its  arrival  by  the  issu- 
ance to  the  German  nobility  of  a  remarkable  address,  which  has 
been  called  "The  IVIanifesto  of  the  Reformation."  It  was  prac- 
tically a  German  declaration  of  independence  of  Rome.  Luther 
demanded,  among  other  things,  that  payment  to  the  Pope  of 
annates^  should  be  forbidden  by  the  princes,  nobles,  and  cities, 
or  that  they  should  be  wholly  abolished;  that  "no  episcopal 
cloak  and  no  confirmation  of  an  appointment  should  be  obtained 
from  Rome";   that  the  Pope  should  have  no  power  whatever 

1  Annates,  or  first  fruits,  were  the  first  year's  revenue,  or  some  portion  of  the  first 
year's  revenue,  of  a  benefice  paid  to  the  Pope  by  a  bishop,  abbot,  or  other  ecclesiastic 
for  the  papal  confirmation  in  his  office.  This  was  a  most  important  source  of  revenue 
to  the  Roman  court.  The  temporal  princes  naturally  regarded  these  payments  by  their 
subjects  to  the  Pope  with  great  jealousy,  since  in  this  way  immense  sums  of  money 
passed  out  of  their  dominions  and  into  the  Roman  treasurj'.  In  England  the  prohibi- 
tion of  the  payment  of  first  fruits  to  the  Pope  was  one  of  the  earliest  steps  taken  in 
the  separation  from  Rome  (see  sect.  594). 


388  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [§556 

over  the  Emperor,  "save  to  anoint  and  crown  him  at  the  altar" ; 
and  that  the  secular  clergy  (ecclesiastics  not  bound  by  monastic 
vows)  should  be  free  to  marry  or  not  to  marry.' 

556.  Luther  burns  the  Papal  Bull  (1520).  At  length  a 
copy  of  the  papal  bull  came  into  Luther's  hands.  Forty-one 
propositions  selected  from  his  writings  were  therein  condemned 
either  as  "heretical"  or  as  "scandalous,"  and  all  persons  were  for- 
bidden to  read  his  books,  which  were  ordered  to  be  burned;  and 
he  himself,  if  he  did  not  retract  his  errors  within  sixty  days,  was, 
together  with  all  his  adherents,  to  be  regarded  as  having  "in- 
curred the  penalty  due  for  heresy." 

Luther  now  took  a  startling  determination.  He  resolved  to 
burn  the  papal  bull.  A  fire  was  kindled  outside  one  of  the 
gates  of  Wittenberg,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  great  throng  of 
doctors,  students,  and  citizens,  Luther  cast  the  bull,  together  with 
some  books  of  his  opponents,  into  the  flames.  The  audacious  pro- 
ceeding raised  a  terrible  storm,  which  raged  "high  as  the  heavens, 
wide  as  the  earth."  Luther  wrote  a  friend  that  he  believed  the 
tempest  could  never  be  stilled  before  the  day  of  judgment. 

557.  The  Diet  of  Worms  (1521).  Affairs  had  now  assumed 
a  threatening  aspect.  All  Germany  was  in  a  state  of  revolt.  The 
papal  supremacy  was  imperiled.  The  papal  ban  having  failed 
to  produce  any  effect,  Pope  Leo  now  invoked  the  aid  of  the 
recently  elected  Emperor  Charles  V  in  extirpating  the  spreading 
heresy.  He  wished  Luther  to  be  sent  to  Rome  for  trial  there. 
Luther's  friends,  however,  persuaded  Charles  not  to  accede  to  the 
Pope's  request,  but  to  permit  Luther  to  be  heard  in  Germany. 
Accordingly  Luther  received  an  imperial  summons  to  appear  at 
Worms  before  an  assembly  of  the  princes,  nobles,  and  clergy  of 
Germany  to  be  convened  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  upon  the 
affairs  of  the  country,  and  especially  upon  matters  touching  the 
great  religious  controversy.    Such  an  assembly  was  called  a  Diet. 

1  Luther  was  not  at  this  time  ready  to  release  monks  from  their  vows.  Gradually, 
however,  his  views  changed  and  he  came  to  regard  the  celibacy  of  the  monks 
as  opposed  to  Scripture  teachings.  In  the  year  1525,  acting  upon  his  maturer  views, 
he  married  Catherine  I5ora,  a  former  nun.  This  violation  by  I-uthcr  of  his  monastic 
vows  was  mafic  the  subject  of  bitter  reproach  against  him  by  his  enemies. 


§558]  LUTHER  AT  THE  WARTBURG  389 

Called  upon  in  the  imperial  assembly  to  recant  his  errors, 
Luther  replied  in  substance:  "I  cannot,  I  will  not,  retract  any- 
thing, unless  what  I  have  written  shall  be  shown  to  be  contrary 
to  Holy  Scripture  or  to  plain  reason,  for  to  act  against  conscience 
is  neither  safe  nor  upright."  His  closing  words  were  impressive : 
"I  can  do  no  otherwise ;  here  I  stand,  God  help  me,  Amen." 

Although  some  wished  to  deliver  the  reformer  to  the  flames, 
the  safe-conduct  of  the  Emperor  under  which  he  had  come  to 
the  Diet  protected  him.  So  Luther  was  allowed  to  depart  in 
safety,  but  was  followed  by  the  ban  of  the  Empire. 

558.  Luther  at  the  Wartburg  (1521-1522).  Luther,  however, 
had  powerful  friends,  among  whom  was  his  own  prince,  Frederick 
the  Wise,  Elector  of  Saxony.  Solicitous  for  the  safety  of  the 
reformer,  the  prince  caused  him  to  be  seized  on  his  way  from 
the  Diet  by  a  company  of  masked  horsemen,  who  carried  him  to 
the  castle  of  the  Wartburg,  where  he  was  kept  about  a  year,  his 
retreat  being  known  only  to  a  few  friends. 

During  this  period  of  forced  retirement  from  the  world  Luther 
was  busy  writing  pamphlets  and  translating  the  Bible. ^  Appeal 
had  been  made  to  the  Scriptures, — "Prove  it  from  the  Scrip- 
tures," was  the  constant  challenge  of  the  reformers  to  their  op- 
ponents,— hence  it  was  necessary  that  the  Scriptures  should  be 
accessible  in  a  language  understood  by  all.  In  giving  Germany 
this  translation  of  the  Bible,  Luther  rendered  some  such  service 
to  the  German  tongue,  by  fixing  its  literary  forms,  as  Dante  ren- 
dered to  the  Italian  through  his  Divine  Comedy. 

559.  The  Peasants'  War  (1524-1525).  A  little  while  after  the 
meeting  of  the  Diet  of  Worms,  the  peasants  of  Swabia  and  Fran- 
conia,  stung  to  madness  by  the  oppressions  of  their  feudal  lords, 
and  stirred  by  the  incendiary  preaching  of  certain  of  their  proph- 
ets, rose  in  revolt  against  the  nobles  and  the  priests, — against  all 
in  authority.  Castles  and  monasteries  were  sacked  and  burned 
and  horrible  outrages  were  committed.  The  rebellion  was  finally 
crushed,  but  not  until  a  hundred  thousand  lives  had  been  sacrificed, 

'  There  had  been  translations  of  the  liiblc  into  (icrman  before  this,  but  the  editions 
had  been  small  and  the  circulation  limited. 


390  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [§  560 

a  large  part  of  South  Germany  devastated,  and  great  reproach 
cast  upon  the  reformers,  whose  teachings  were  held  by  their 
enemies  to  be  the  whole  cause  of  the  ferment. 

560.  The  Secularization  of  Church  Property.  But  in  spite 
of  all  these  discrediting  movements  the  reform  made  rapid  prog- 
ress. Nothing  contributed  more  to  win  over  the  lay  princes  to  the 
views  of  Luther  than  his  recommendation  that  the  monasteries 
should  be  suppressed  and  their  property  confiscated  and  devoted 
to  the  maintenance  of  churches,  schools,  and  charities.^ 

The  lay  rulers  were  quick  to  act  upon  this  suggestion  and  to 
go  far  beyond  it.  Within  a  very  few  years  after  the  appearance 
of  Luther's  address  to  the  German  nobility  and  another  treatise 
of  his  on  monastic  vows,  wherein  he  pronounced  such  vows  to  be 
contrary  to  true  Christian  principles,  there  were  confiscations  of 
ecclesiastical  property  in  all  the  German  states  that  had  become 
Protestant. 

In  Sweden,  in  which  country  the  doctrines  of  Luther  gained 
an  early  foothold,  almost  all  the  property  of  the  old  Church 
was,  by  an  act  of  the  National  Diet,  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
king,  Gustavus  Vasa  (1524).  This  wealth  contributed  greatly  to 
enhance  the  power  and  prestige  of  the  Swedish  monarchy. 

In  England,  King  Henry  VHI,  under  circumstances  which  we 
shall  relate  in  another  chapter,  suppressed  the  monasteries  and 
diverted  to  secular  uses  the  greater  part  of  their  wealth. 

But  the  classical  instance  of  the  secularizing  of  Church  prop- 
erty during  this  period  is  afforded  by  the  case  of  the  Teutonic 
Knights  (sect.  453).  At  the  beginning  of  the  Protestant  revolt 
these  monk  knights  ruled  over  from  two  to  three  million  subjects. 
When  the  reform  movement  began  to  spread  over  Germany  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  Order-  turned  Protestant  and  converted  the 
domains  of  the  fraternity  into  an  hereditary  principality  under 
the  name  of  the  Duchy  of  Prussia  (1525);  The  knights  married 
and  became  nobles.  Thus  was  created  out  of  ecclesiastical  lands 
a  most  important  secular  state. 

1  All  such  taking  over  of  Church  property  by  the  State  was  called  "  secularization." 

2  Albert  (1490-156S),  head  of  a  branch  of  the  family  of  Ilohenzollem. 


§561]    REFORMERS  ARE  CALLED  PROTESTANTS       391 

561.  The  Reformers  are  called  Protestants.  The  rapid 
progress  of  the  revolution  alarmed  the  upholders  of  the  ancient 
Church.  In  the  year  1529  there  gathered  an  assembly  (the 
Second  Diet  of  Spires)  to  consider  the  matter.  The  action  of 
the  Catholic  majority  of  this  body  took  away  from  the  Protes- 
tant princes  and  cities  the  right  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed  of 
determining  what  form  of  religion  should  be  followed  in  their 
domains,  and  forbade  the  teaching  of  certain  of  the  new  doctrines 
until  a  Church  council  should  have  pronounced  authoritatively 
upon  them. 

Six  of  the  German  princes  and  a  large  number  of  the  cities  of 
the  Empire  issued  a  formal  protest  against  the  action  of  the  Diet, 
denying  the  power  or  right  of  a  majority  to  bind  the  minority  in 
matters  of  religion  and  conscience.  Because  of  this  protest,  the 
reformers  from  this  time  began  to  be  known  as  Protestants. 

562.  The  Catholic  Reaction;  its  Causes  and  Agents.  Even 
before  the  death  of  Luther,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1546/ 
the  Reformation  had  gained  a  strong  foothold  in  most  of  the 
countries  of  Western  Christendom,  save  in  Spain  and  Italy,  and 
even  in  these  parts  the  new  doctrines  had  made  some  progress. 
But  several  causes  now  conspired  to  check  the  hitherto  trium- 
phant advance  of  Protestantism  and  to  enable  the  old  Church  to 
regain  much  of  the  ground  that  had  been  lost.  Chief  among 
these  were  the  divisions  among  the  Protestants,  the  Counter- 
Reform  in  the  Catholic  Church,  the  increased  activity  of  the 
Inquisition,  the  rise  of  the  Society  of  the  Jesuits,  and  Spain's 
zealous  championship  of  Catholicism. 

563.  Divisions  among  the  Protestants.  Early  in  their  con- 
test with  the  Roman  See  the  Protestants  became  divided  into 
several  mutually  hostile  sects,  the  most  important  of  which  were 
the  Lutherans  and  the  Calvinists.  The  creed  of  the  Lutherans 
came  to  prevail   very   generally   in  North    Germany,   and   was 

1  After  the  death  of  Luther  the  leadership  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany  fell 
to  Philip  Mclanchthon  (1497-1560),  one  of  Luther's  friends  and  fellow-workers. 
Mclanchthon's  disposition  was  exactly  the  opposite  of  Luther's.  He  often  reproved 
Luther  for  his  indiscretion  and  vehemence,  and  was  constantly  laboring  to  effect, 
through  mutual  concessions,  a  reconciliation  between  the  Catholics  and  Protestants. 


392  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [§564 

received  in  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  It  also  spread  into  the 
Netherlands,  but  there  it  was  soon  overshadowed  by  Calvinism. 
Of  all  the  Protestant  sects  the  Lutherans  made  the  least  departure 
from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

The  Calvinists  were  followers  of  John  Calvin  (i  509-1 564),  a 
Frenchman  by  birth,  who,  forced  to  flee  from  France  on  account 
of  persecution,  found  a  refuge  at  Geneva,'  which  city  he  made 
the  center  of  a  movement  rivaling  in  extent  and  historical  im- 
portance that  having  its  point  of  departure  at  Wittenberg.  We 
can  best  remember  the  wide  range  of  Calvinism  and  its  remarkable 
influence  upon  the  history  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  by  keeping  in  mind  that  the  French  Huguenots,  the 
Scotch  Covenanters,  the  Dutch  Netherlanders  (in  large  part),  the 
English  Puritans,  and  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  were  all  Calvinists. 

These  great  Protestant  communions  finally  broke  up  into  a 
large  number  of  denominations  or  churches,  each  holding  to 
some  minor  point  of  doctrine  or  adhering  to  some  form  of  wor- 
ship disregarded  by  the  others,  yet  all  agreeing  in  the  central 
doctrine  of  the  Reformation,  "justification  by  faith  alone." 

Now,  the  contentions  between  these  different  sects  were  sharp 
and  bitter.  The  influence  of  these  sectarian  divisions  upon  the 
progress  of  the  reform  movement  was  most  disastrous.  They 
weakened  the  Protestant  party  in  the  presence  of  a  united  and 
vigilant  enemy.  They  afforded  the  Catholics  a  strong  and  effective 
argument  against  the  entire  movement  as  tending  to  uncertainty 
and  discord. 

564.  The  Catholic  Counter-Reform;  the  Council  of  Trent 
(1545-1563);  Carlo  Borromeo.  As  we  have  seen,  it  was  the 
existence  of  acknowledged  evils  and  scandals  in  the  old  Church 
that  had  contributed  to  undermine  its  authority  and  to  weaken 
its  hold  upon  the  reverence  and  the  consciences  of  men.    It  was 

'  Under  the  influence  of  Calvin,  fiencv.i  bec.Tme  a  sort  of  theocratic  state,  with 
the  reformer  as  a  Protestant  pope.  The  laws  and  regulations  of  this  little  city-state 
recall  those  of  the  later  I'urilan  commonwealth  in  England.  Calvinism  was  everywhere 
the  same.  It  was  a  sort  of  revival  of  the  theocracy  of  the  ancient  Hebrews.  Calvin  has 
been  well  called  the  "Prophet  of  the  Old  Covenant."  His  work  entitled  Institutes  of  the 
Christian  R(lii;inn  is  a  masterly  exposition  of  Calvinistic  theology. 


§564]  THE  CATHOLIC  COUNTER-REFORM  393 

the  correction  of  these  evils  and  the  removal  of  these  scandals 
which  did  much  to  restore  its  lost  influence  and  authority. 

This  reform,  which  even  before  the  rise  of  Protestantism  had 
already  begun  within  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  was  carried 
out  in  great  measure  by  the  memorable  Council  of  Trent  (1545- 
1563).  This  body,  the  most  important  Church  assembly  since 
that  of  Nicaea,  a.d.  325,  with  the  voice  of  authority  passed  upon 
all  the  points  that  had  been  raised  by  the  reformers.  It  declared 
the  traditions  of  the  Church  to  be  of  equal  authority  with  the 
Bible;  it  reasserted  the  divine  character  of  the  Papacy;  it  con- 
demned as  heresy  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
alone.  It  made  everything  so  clear  that  no  one,  not  even  a  way- 
faring man,  need  err  either  in  doctrine  or  in  duty.  It  also  de- 
manded that  the  lives  of  all  priests  and  bishops  should  be  an 
exemplification  of  Christian  purity  and  morality. 

These  measures  of  the  council  helped  greatly  to  check  the 
Protestant  movement.  The  correction  of  the  abuses  that  had  had 
so  much  to  do  in  causing  the  great  schism  smoothed  the  way  for 
the  return  to  the  ancient  Church  of  thousands  who  had  become 
alarmed  at  the  dangers  into  which  society  seemed  to  drift  when 
once  it  cast  loose  from  anchorage  in  the  safe  harbor  of  tradition 
and  authority. 

The  spirit  in  which  the  Council  of  Trent  had  done  its  work 
finds  illustration  in  the  exalted  character  and  devoted  life  of 
the  Italian  reformer,  Carlo  Borromeo  (i 538-1 584).  In  him  the 
reforming  spirit  of  the  great  council  was  incarnate.  He  became 
Archbishop  of  ]\Iilan,  and  took  as  his  model  the  holy  Ambrose, 
who,  twelve  centuries  before,  in  the  corrupt  times  of  the  failing 
Roman  Empire,  had  won  sainthood  in  that  same  see  (sect.  324). 
He  renovated  and  restored  the  desecrated  and  deserted  churches, 
reformed  the  lax  and  dissolute  lives  of  the  clergy,  restored  disci- 
pline in  the  religious  orders,  and  established  schools  and  colleges. 
It  was  due  largely  to  his  zealous  labors  and  to  the  happy  conta- 
gion of  his  holy  example  that  a  new  spiritual  life  was  created  in 
Milan  and  the  regions  round  about,  that  popular  veneration  for 
the   ancient   Church   was   again   evoked,    that    the   progress    of 


394  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        L§  565 

Protestantism  in  Italy  was  stayed,  that  the  wavering  were  held 
firm  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Papacy,  and  that  many  who  had 
already  been  led  away  by  the  Protestant  "heresy"  were  brought 
back  to  the  ancient  fold. 

565.  The  Inquisition.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  having 
purified  itself  and  defined  clearly  its  articles  of  faith,  demanded 
of  all  a  more  implicit  obedience  than  hitherto.  The  Inquisition 
now  assumed  new  activity,  and  heresy  was  sternly  dealt  with. 
The  tribunal  was  assisted  in  the  execution  of  its  sentences  by 
the  secular  authorities  in  all  the  Romance  countries,  but  out- 
side of  these  it  was  not  generally  recognized  by  the  temporal 
princes,  though  it  did  succeed  in  establishing  itself  for  a  time  in 
the  Netherlands  and  in  some  parts  of  Germany.  Death,  usually 
by  burning,  and  loss  of  property  were  the  penalty  of  obstinate 
heresy.  Without  doubt  the  Inquisition  did  much  to  check  the 
advance  of  the  Reformation  in  southern  Europe,  aiding  especially 
in  holding  Italy  and  Spain  obedient  to  the  ancient  Church. 

At  this  point,  in  connection  with  the  persecutions  of  the  In- 
quisition, we  should  not  fail  to  recall  that  in  the  sixteenth  century 
a  refusal  to  conform  to  the  established  worship  was  regarded  by 
the  great  majority  of  Protestants,  as  well  as  of  Catholics,  as  a 
species  of  treason  against  society,  and  was  dealt  with  accordingly. 
Thus,  at  Geneva  we  find  Calvin  bending  all  his  energies  to  the 
trial  and  execution  of  Servetus,  because  he  published  views  that 
the  Calvinists  thought  heretical ;  at  Rome  we  see  Giordano  Bruno 
burned  at  the  stake  because  of  his  disbelief  in  certain  Roman 
Catholic  doctrines ;  and  in  England  we  see  the  Anglican  Protes- 
tants waging  the  most  cruel,  bitter,  and  persistent  persecutions 
not  only  against  the  Catholics  but  also  against  all  Protestants 
who  refused  to  conform  to  the  Established  Church. 

566.  The  Society  of  the  Jesuits;  Ignatius  of  Loyola; 
Francis  Xavier.  The  Society  of  the  Jesuits,  or  the  Company 
of  Jesus,  was  another  most  powerful  auxiliary  concerned  in  the 
reestablishment  of  the  threatened  authority  of  the  Papal  See. 
The  founder  of  the  fraternity  was  Ignatius  of  Loyola  (1491- 
1556),  a  native   of   Spain.     Ignatius   was   the   embodiment  of 


§566] 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  THE  JESUITS 


395 


Spanish  religious  zeal.  His  object  was  to  form  a  society  the 
devotion  and  energy  of  whose  members  should  meet  the  ardor 
and  activity  of  the  reformers.  The  new  society  was  instituted  by 
a  papal  bull  in  1540. 

It  was  particularly  as  educators  that  the  Jesuits  made  their  in- 
fluence felt  upon  society.     Their  aim  here  was  to  fill  the  world 
with  schools  and  colleges,  just  as  a  conquered  country  might  be 
occupied  with  military  garrisons. 
Ignatius  left  behind  him  a  full 
hundred  colleges  and  seminaries  ; 
within  a  century  and  a  half  after 
his  death  the  Order  had  founded 
over  seven  hundred. 

As  the  well-disciplined  and  un- 
compromising foes  of  the  Protes- 
tants, now  divided  into  many  and 
often  hostile  sects,  the  Jesuits 
did  so  much  to  bring  about  a 
reaction  that  Macaulay  declares, 
"The  history  of  the  Jesuits  is 
the  history  of  the  Catholic  Re- 
action." It  was  largely  through 
their   direct    or   indirect    agency 

that  Hungary,  Poland,  Bohemia,  and  South  Germany,  after  they 
had  been  invaded  by  Protestantism  and  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  drawn  away  from  the  old  faith,  were  won  back  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  and  again  bound  by  ties  stronger  than 
ever  to  the  Papacy.  By  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  this 
work  of  recovery  had  been  in  the  main  accomplished.  This  re- 
gaining of  these  debatable  countries  for  Catholicism  constitutes 
one  of  the  most  important  matters  in  the  religious  history  of 
Europe. 

And  not  only  did  the  labors  of  the  Jesuits  contribute  thus 
greatly  to  the  retrieving  of  the  papal  fortunes  in  Europe,  but  they 
were  also  instrumental  in  extending  the  authority  and  spreading 
the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  into  all  oth^r  parts 


Fk;.  1 10.    Ignatius  of  Loyola 
(After  a  painting  by  Rube/is) 


396  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        L§567 

of  the  world.  ]\Iost  distinguished  of  all  the  missionaries  of  the 
society  to  pagan  lands  was  the  saintly  Francis  Xavier  (1506- 
1552),  known  as  the  "Apostle  of  the  Indies." 

567.  Spain's  Zealous  Championship  of  Catholicism.  Just  as 
England  became  the  champion  and  the  bulwark  of  Protestantism, 
so  did  Spain  become  the  champion  and  the  bulwark  of  Catholi- 
cism. The  Spanish  sovereigns,  as  we  shall  see,  constituted  them- 
selves the  guardians  of  Catholic  orthodoxy,  and  put  forth  all  their 
strength  to  uproot  the  reformed  faith  not  only  in  their  own 
domains  but  also  in  other  lands.  Their  strenuous  efforts  to 
reestablish  the  old  religious  unity  caused  them  to  become  most 
important  instruments  of  the  Catholic  Restoration. 

568.  The  Hundred  Years  of  Religious  Wars.  The  action 
taken  by  the  Council  of  Trent  made  impossible  a  reconciliation 
between  the  two  parties.  The  nTiddle  of  the  sixteenth  century 
had  not  yet  been  reached  before  the  increasing  bitterness  of  their 
controversy  led  to  an  appeal  to  force.  Then  followed  a  hundred 
years  of  religious  wars.  During  this  time  neither  party  laid  aside 
the  sword.  In  this  protracted  combat  Protestantism  was  fighting 
desperately  for  the  right  to  live;  the  Papacy  was  fighting  to  put 
down  secession,  to  force  the  seceded  states  back  into  the  old 
ecclesiastical  empire,  to  restore  the  broken  unity  of  Christendom. 

In  the  chapters  immediately  following  this  we  shall  trace  in 
broad  outline  the  vicissitudes  in  fortune  of  the  rival  creeds 
in  the  leading  European  countries.  To  what  we  have  here  said 
concerning  the  beginnings  of  the  Revolution  we  will  in  closing 
sections  add  only  a  few  words  touching  its  results. 

569.  Political  Results  of  the  Reformation:  the  Separation 
from  Rome  and  what  this  meant.  The  outcome  of  the  Prot- 
estant Revolution  as  a  revolution  was,  very  broadly  stated,  the 
separation  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  North  Germany, 
Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  England,  and  Scotland,  along  with 
parts  of  Switzerland  and  of  the  Netherlands, —  in  the  main, 
nations  predominantly  Teutonic  in  race  or  in  language.  The 
great  Romance  nations,  namely,  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  to- 
gether with  South   Germany,  Poland,   Bohemia,  Hungary,   and 


§  570]  RESULTS  OF  THE  REFORM  MOVEMENT  397 

Ireland,  adhered  to  the  ancient  Church,  or,  if  for  a  period  shaken 
in  their  loyalty,  ultimately  returned  to  their  old  allegiance. 

What  this  separation  from  Rome  meant  in  the  political  realm 
is  well  stated  by  the  historian  Seebohm:  "It  was  the  claiming  by 
the  civil  power  in  each  nation  of  those  rights  which  the  Pope  had 
hitherto  claimed  within  it  as  head  of  the  great  ecclesiastical  em- 
pire. The  clergy  and  monks  had  hitherto  been  regarded  more  or 
less  as  foreigners,- — that  is,  as  subjects  of  the  Pope's  ecclesiastical 
empire.  Where  there  was  a  revolt  from  Rome  the  allegiance  of 
these  persons  to  the  Pope  was  annulled,  and  the  civil  power 
claimed  as  full  a  sovereignty  over  them  as  it  had  over  its  lay 
subjects.  ISIatters  relating  to  marriage  and  wills  still  for  the 
most  part  remained  under  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  but  then,  as 
the  ecclesiastical  courts  themselves  became  national  courts  and 
ceased  to  be  Roman  or  papal,  all  these  matters  came  under  the 
control  of  the  civil  power." 

In  a  word,  the  secession  meant  that  the  nations  thus  breaking 
the  ties  which  formerly  united  them  to  Rome  now  became — 
what  they  were  not  during  mediaeval  times — ^absolutely  inde- 
pendent or  sovereign  powers,  self-centered  and  self-governed  in 
their  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  their  political  life. 

570.  Religious  and  Moral  Results  of  the  Reform  Movement. 
From  a  spiritual  or  religious  point  of  view,  this  severance  by  the 
Northern  nations  of  the  bonds  that  formerly  united  them  to  the 
ecclesiastical  empire  of  Rome  meant  a  transfer  of  their  allegiance 
from  the  Church  to  the  Bible.  The  decrees  of  popes  and  the 
decisions  of  Church  councils  were  no  longer  to  be  regarded  as 
having  divine  and  binding  force;  the  Scriptures  alone  were  to 
be  held  as  possessing  divine  and  infallible  authority,  and,  the- 
oretically, this  rule  and  standard  of  faith  and  practice  each 
individual  was  to  interpret  for  himself. 

Another  important  result  of  the  Reformation  was  a  certain 
impulse  given  the  world  toward  religious  toleration.  It  is  true 
that  the  reformers,  in  spite  of  their  insistence  for  themselves 
upon  the  right  of  private  judgment  in  religious  matters,  did  not 
in  practice  concede  this  right  to  others,  and  when  they  had  the 


398  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  REFORMATION        [§570 

power  became,  very  inconsistently,  most  zealous  persecutors. 
They  believed  with  the  Catholics  that  heresy  should  be  punished, 
only  they  defined  heresy  differently.  Nevertheless,  the  proc- 
lamation of  the  principle  of  private  judgment  in  religious  affairs, 
through  a  logical  necessity,  came  ultimately  to  exert  a  favorable 
influence  upon  toleration ;  for  you  cannot  accord  to  a  man  the 
right  to  form  his  own  judgment  respecting  a  matter  and  at  the 
same  time  affix  a  penalty  to  his  reaching  any  save  a  prescribed 
conclusion.  Consequently,  among  the  various  agencies,  such  as 
modern  science,  the  advance  of  the  world  in  general  intelligence, 
and  closer  intercourse  among  the  nations,  which  during  the  past 
three  centuries  have  brought  in  the  beneficent  principle  of  reli- 
gious toleration,  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  must 
be  given  a  prominent  place. 

References.  Beard,  C,  Martin  Luther  and  the  Refomiation  in  Germany. 
Ki)STLi\,  J.,  Life  of  Luther.  Kmerton,  E.,  Desiderius  Erasmus.  For  a  wider 
survey,  from  the  Protestant  point  of  view,  of  the  reform  movement :  Fisher, 
G.  P.,  The  Reformation;  IIausser,  L.,  The  Period  of  the  Reformation  ;  and 
Seehohm,  F.,  The  Era  of  the  Protestant  Revolution.  IIui.ME,  K.  M.,  The  Renais- 
sance, the  Protestant  Rd'olution,  and  the  Catholic  Reformation  in  Continental 
Europe  (Rev.  Ed.),' chaps,  x-xxx.  For  the  history  of  the  movement  from  the 
Catholic  side:  Sp.ALDING,  M.  J.,  The  History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation. 
The  Cambridge  Modern  I/istoty,  vol.  i,  chap,  xix,  and  vol.  ii,  chaps,  iv-viii. 
RoHlNSOX,  J.  II.,  An  Lntroduction  to  the  Histoty  of  IVestern  Europe,  chaps. 
XXV  and  xxvi.  FROUnE.  J.  A.,  Lectures  on  the  Council  of  Trent.  IIi'GHES,  T., 
Loyola  and  the  Educational  System  of  the  fesuits.  Sv.MO.XDS,  J.  A.,  The  Catholic 
Reaction,  vol.  i. 


CHAPTER  LV 

THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  SPAIN ;  HER  RELATION  TO  THE 
CATHOLIC  REACTION     . 

I.  REIGN  OF  THE  EMPEROR  CHARLES  V  (1519-1556) 

571.  Charles'  Dominions.  In  the  year  1500  there  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Ghent,  in  the  Netherlands,  a  prince  who  was  destined 
to  play  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This 
was  Charles,  son  of  Philip  the  Handsome,  Archduke  of  Austria, 
and  Joanna,  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain, — 
later  to  be  known  to  fame  as  Emperor  Charles  V. 

Charles  was  "  the  converging  point  and  heir  of  four  great  royal 
lines,  which  had  become  united  by  a  series  of  happy  matrimonial 
alliances."  These  were  the  houses  of  Austria,  Burgundy,  Castile, 
and  Aragon.  Before  Charles  had  completed  his  nineteenth  year 
there  were  heaped  upon  his  head,  through  the  removal  by  death 
of  his  ancestors,  the  crowns  of  the  four  dynasties. 

But  great  as  was  the  number  of  the  hereditary  crowns  of  the 
young  prince,  there  was  straightway  added  to  them  (in  15 19),  by 
the  vote  of  the  Electors  of  Germany,  the  crown  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire.  After  this  election  he  was  known  as  Emperor  Charles  V  ; 
hitherto  he  had  borne  the  title  of  Carlos  I  of  Spain. 

572.  The  Balance  of  Power  is  disturbed  by  Spain.  During  a 
great  part  of  the  modern  age  a  doctrine  known  as  "the  balance  of 
power"  has  lain  at  the  bottom  of  much  European  diplomacy.  It 
has  been  the  concern  of  statesmen  to  see  to  it  that  no  one  of  the 
nations  should  acquire  an  overweight  of  power  or  influence,  and 
thereby  endanger  the  independence  of  the  others.  But  in  spite 
of  this  vigilance  there  has  been  a  constant  tendency  to  a  disturb- 
ance of  the  equilibrium  of  the  European  system  of  states  through 
the  overgrowth  of  this  or  that  member  of  it. 

399 


400 


THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  SPAIN 


t§573 


Now  in  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  the  overshadowing  great- 
ness of  Spain  that  aroused  the  fears  of  her  neighbors  and  very 
largely  determined  the  policies  and  actions  of  these  states.  Here 
we  have  the  key  to  much  of  the  political  history  of  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Charles  V  and  that  of  his  son  and  successor  on 
the  Spanish  throne,  Philip  H. 

573.  Charles  and  the  Reformation.  But  important  as  is  the 
political  side  of  Charles'  reign,  it  is  his  relation  to  the  Lutheran 

movement  which  constitutes  for  us 
the  significant  feature  of  his  life 
and  work.  Fortunately  for  the 
Catholic  Church,  the  young  Em- 
peror placed  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  Catholic  party,  and  not  only 
during  his  own  reign  employed  the 
strength  and  resources  of  his  em- 
pire in  extirpating  the  heresy  of  the 
reformers  but  also  transmitted  this 
policy  to  his  successors  upon  the 
Spanish  throne. 

574.  His  two  Chief  Enemies. 
Had  Charles  been  free  from  the 
outset  to  devote  all  his  energies  to 
the  work  of  suppressing  the  Lu- 
theran heresy,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
what  could  have  saved  the  reform  doctrines  within  his  dominions 
from  extirpation.  But,  fortunately  for  the  cause  of  the  re- 
formers, Charles'  attention,  during  much  of  his  reign,  was  drawn 
away  from  the  consideration  of  Church  ciuestions  by  the  attacks 
upon  his  dominions  of  two  of  the  most  powerful  monarchs  of  the 
times,— Francis  I  (151 5-1 547)  of  France,  and  Solyman  the  Mag- 
nificent (1520- 1566),  Sultan  of  Turkey.  Time  and  again,  when 
Charles  was  inclined  to  proceed  to  severe  measures  against  the 
Protestant  princes  of  dermany,  the  threatening  movements  of  one 
or  both  of  these  enemies  forced  him  to  postpone  his  proposed 
crusade  against  heretics  for  a  campaign  against  foreign  foes. 


hm 


9  r\ 

Yu;.  III.  E.\iri:K()R  Charles  V 
(After  a  painting  by  Holbein) 


§  575]    WARS  BETWEEN  CHARLES  AND  FRANCIS      401 

575.  Wars  between  Charles  and  Francis  (1521-1544) ;  their 
Results.  Francis  I  was  the  rival  of  Charles  in  the  contest  for  the 
imperial  dignity.  When  the  Electors  of  Germany  conferred  the 
title  upon  the  Spanish  monarch,  Francis  was  sorely  disappointed, 
and  during  all  the  remainder  of  his  reign  kept  up  a  jealous  and 
almost  incessant  warfare  with  Charles,  whose  enormous  posses- 
sions now  nearly  surrounded  the  French  kingdom.^  Italy  was  the 
field  of  much  of  the  fighting,  as  the  securing  of  dominion  in  that 
peninsula  was  a  chief  aim  of  each  of  the  rivals.  The  direct  and 
indirect  consequences  of  the  protracted  combat  between  Francis 
and  Charles  were  many  and  far-reaching.  First,  Protestantism 
was  given  time  to  intrench  itself  so  firmly  in  North  Germany  and 
in  other  countries  as  to  render  ineffectual  all  later  efforts  for 
its  destruction. 

Second,  by  preventing  united  action  on  the  part  of  the  Christian 
princes,  these  quarrels  were  the  occasion  of  the  severe  losses 
which  Christendom  during  this  period  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
Ottoman  Turks.  Hungary  was  ravaged  with  fire  and  sword, 
Rhodes  was  captured,  and  the  Mediterranean  made  almost  a 
Turkish  lake. 

Third,  these  wars,  having  Italy  as  their  chief  theater,  were 
a  frightful  scourge  to  that  land  and  blighted  there  all  the  fair 
promises  of  the  Renaissance;  but  at  the  same  time  the  storm 
wafted  the  precious  seeds  of  the  revived  arts  and  letters  beyond 
the  mountains  into  France  and  other  Nortfiern  lands.  The  French 
Renaissance  dates  from  these  Italian  wars. 

576.  Persecution  of  the  Waldenses  by  Francis  (1545).  The 
cessation  of  the  wars  between  Francis  and  Charles  left  each  free 
to  give  his  attention  to  his  heretical  subjects.    And  both  had  work 

1  Before  entering  upon  war  with  Charles,  Francis  cast  about  for  an  ally.  The  young 
king  of  England,  Henry  \'III,  seemed  the  most  desirable  friend.  He  accordingly 
invited  Henry  to  a  conference  in  France,  at  which  was  to  be  considered  the  matter  of 
an  alliance  against  the  Emperor.  The  two  kings,  each  attended  by  a  magnificent  train 
of  courtiers,  met  near  Calais  (1520).  The  meeting  is  known  in  history  as  "The  Field  of 
the  Cloth  of  Gold,"  because  of  the  prodigal  richness  of  the  costumes  and  appointments 
of  the  chiefs  and  their  attendants.  "  Many,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  "bore  thither 
their  mills,  their  forests,  and  their  meadows  on  their  backs."  Nothing  came  of  the 
interview,  and  Charles  finally  won   Henry  over  to  his  side. 


402  THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  SPAIN  [§577 

enough  on  hand;  for  while  the  king  and  the  Emperor  had  been 
fighting  each  other,  the  doctrines  of  the  reformers  had  been  spread- 
ing rapidly  in  all  directions  and  among  all  classes. 

The  severest  blow  dealt  the  heretics  of  his  kingdom  by  Francis 
fell  upon  the  \'audois,  or  Waldenses,  the  inhabitants  of  a  number 
of  hamlets  in  the  Alpine  regions  of  Piedmont  and  Provence.  These 
people  during  the  later  mediaeval  time  had  fallen  into  what  the 
Church  regarded  as  heretical  ways,  and  just  now  they  were  min- 
gling with  their  own  heresies  those  of  the  Protestant  reformers. 
Thousands  were  put  to  death  by  the  sword,  and  thousands  more 
were  burned  at  the  stake.  At  a  later  time  other  persecutions  fell 
upon  them,  until  finally  only  a  miserable  remnant,  who  found  an 
asylum  among  the  mountains,  were  left  to  hand  down  their  faith 
to  modern  times. 

577.  Charles'  Wars  with  the  Protestant  German  Princes. 
Charles,  on  his  part,  turned  his  attention  to  the  reformers  in  Ger- 
many. Inspired  by  religious  motives  and  convictions,  and  appre- 
hensive, further,  of  the  effect  upon  his  authority  in  Germany  of 
the  growth  there  of  such  an  empire  within  an  empire  as  the 
Protestant  princes  and  free  cities  were  becoming,  he  resolved  to 
crush  the  reform  movement  by  force. 

Accordingly,  in  the  very  year  that  Luther  died  (1546),  the 
Emperor,  aided  by  the  German  Catholics,  attacked  the  Protestant 
princes.  He  was  at  first  successful,  but  in  the  end  the  war  proved 
the  most  disastrous  and  humiliating  to  him  of  any  in  which  he 
had  engaged.  Severe  defeats  of  his  armies  finally  constrained  him 
to  give  up  his  undertaking  to  make  all  his  German  subjects  think 
alike  in  matters  of  religion. 

578.  The  Religious  Peace  of  Augsburg  (1555).  In  (he  cele- 
brated Diet  of  Augsburg,  convened  in  1555  to  compose  the  dis- 
tracted affairs  of  the  German  states,  it  was  arranged  and  agreed 
that  every  prince  should  be  allowed  to  choose  between  the  Cath- 
olic religion  and  the  Augsburg  Confession,^  and  should  have  the 

1  The  Augsburg  Confession  was  the  formula  of  belief  of  the  adherents  of  I.uther. 
It  was  drawn  up  by  the  scholar  Mclanchthon  and  laid  before  the  I  mpcrial  Diet  assembled 
at  Augsburg  by  Charles  V  in  ijjo.    It  formed  the  basis  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


§5791  CHARLES'  ABDICATION  403 

right  to  make  his  religion  the  religion  of  his  people.  This,  it  will 
be  noted,  was  simply  toleration  as  concerns  princes  or  govern- 
ments. The  subject  must  follow  his  prince,  and  think  and  believe 
as  he  thought  and  believed. 

To  this  article,  however,  the  Diet  made  one  important  excep- 
tion. The  Catholics  insisted  that  ecclesiastical  princes,  that  is, 
bishops  and  abbots,  on  becoming  Protestants,  should  surrender  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  their  offices  and  revenues ;  and  this 
important  clause,  under  the  name  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Reservation, 
was  finally  made  a  part  of  the  treaty.  It  is  important  that  this 
Treaty  of  Augsburg  should  be  kept  carefully  in  mind,  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  through  violations  of  its  articles  by  both  parties 
that  the  way  was  paved  for  the  terrible  Thirty  Years'  War. 

579.  Charles'  Abdication.  While  the  Diet  of  ^Augsburg  was 
arranging  the  religious  peace  the  Emperor  Charles  was  enacting  the 
part  of  a  second  Diocletian.  There  had  long  been  forming  in  his 
mind  the  purpose  of  spending  his  last  days  in  monastic  seclusion. 
The  disappointing  issue  of  his  contest  with  the  Protestant  princes 
of  Germany,  the  weight  of  advancing  years,  together  with  menac- 
ing troubles  which  began  ''to  thicken  like  dark  clouds  about  the 
evening  of  his  reign,"  now  led  the  Emperor  to  carry  this  resolu- 
tion into  effect.  Accordingly  he  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son 
Philip  the  crown  of  the  Netherlands  (1555)  and  that  of  Spain 
and  its  colonies  (1556),  and  then  retired  to  the  monaster^'  of 
Yuste,  situated  in  a  secluded  region  in  western  Spain. 

There  is  a  tradition  which  tells  how  Charles,  after  vainly  en- 
deavoring to  make  some  clocks  that  he  had  about  him  at  Yuste 
run  together,  made  the  following  reflection:  "How  foolish  I  have 
been  to  think  I  could  make  all  men  believe  alike  about  religion, 
when  here  I  cannot  make  even  two  clocks  keep  the  same  time." 

This  story  is  probably  mythical.  Charles  seems  never  to  have 
doubted  either  the  practicability  or  the  policy  of  securing  uni- 
formity of  belief  by  force.  While  in  retirement  at  Yuste  he 
expressed  the  deepest  regret  that  he  did  not  burn  Luther  at 
Worms.  He  was  constantly  urging  Philip  to  use  greater  severity 
in  dealing  with  his  heretic  subjects. 


404  THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  SPAIN  [§  580 

II.  SPAIN  UNDER  PHILIP  II  (1556-1598) 

580.  Philip's  Character  and  his  Principles  of  Government. 
Philip,  unlike  his  father,  was  a  representative  Spaniard.  He  em- 
bodied in  himself  the  traits,  ideals,  and  aspirations  of  the  Spanish 
race,  just  as  Luther  typitied  and  embodied  those  of  the  German 
race.  Like  the  true  Spaniard,  Philip  possessed  a  deeply  religious 
nature.  One  of  his  instruments  of  government  was  the  Inquisi- 
tion. He  employed  it  in  the  suppression  of  heresy,  not  simply 
because  he  was  a  sincere  Catholic  and  believed  that  heresy  was 
willful  sin  and  should  be  sternly  dealt  with,  but  also  because 
heresy,  in  his  view,  was  rebellion  against  the  state. 

Philip  possessed  unusual  administrative  ability.  He  was  an 
incessant  worker  and  busied  himself  with  the  endless  details  of 
government.  He  did  everything  himself.  His  secretaries  were 
mere  clerks.  He  even  regulated,  or  tried  to  regulate,  the  pri- 
vate affairs  of  his  subjects, —  told  them  how  to  dress,  when  they 
might  use  carriages,  and  how  and  where  to  educate  their  chil- 
dren. Under  this  system  there  was  in  the  kingdom  but  one  brain 
to  plan  and  one  will  to  direct.  All  local  freedom  and  all  individ- 
ual enterprise  were  crushed  out.  This  fatally  centralized  system 
of  absolute  government  Philip  bequeathed  to  his  successors,  and 
thus  contributed  greatly  to  determine  the  unhappy  destiny  of 
the  Spanish  people. 

As  the  most  important  matters  of  Philip's  reign  —  namely, 
his  war  against  the  revolted  Netherlands  and  his  attempt  upon 
England  with  his  "Invincible  Armada" — belong  properly  to  the 
respective  histories  of  England  and  the  Netherlands,  and  will 
be  treated  of  in  connection  with  the  affairs  of  those  countries,  we 
shall  give  here  very  little  space  to  the  history  of  the  period. 

581.  Defeat  of  the  Turkish  Fleet  at  Lepanto  (i57i).  Philip 
rendered  at  least  one  great  service  to  Christian  civilization  at 
large.  This  he  did  by  helping  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  Otto- 
man Turks  in  the  Mediterranean.  They  had  captured  the  im- 
portant island  of  Cyprus  and  had  assaulted  the  Hospitalers  at 
Malta.    All  Christendom  was  becoming  alarmed.    An  alliance  was 


§582]  THE  DEATH  OF  PHILIP  405 

formed,  embracing  the  Pope,  the  Venetians,  and  Philip  II.  An 
immense  fleet  was  equipped  and  put  under  the  command  of  Don 
John  of  Austria,  Philip's  half-brother. 

The  Christian  fleet  met  the  Turkish  squadron  in  the  Gulf  of 
Lepanto,  on  the  western  coast  of  Greece.  The  battle  was  unequaled 
by  anything  the  Mediterranean  had  seen  since  the  naval  encounters 
of  the  Romans  and  Carthaginians  in  the  First  Punic  War.  The 
Ottoman  fleet  was  almost  totally  destroyed.  Thousands  of  Chris- 
tian captives,  who  were  found  chained  to  the  oars  of  the  Turkish 
galleys,  were  liberated.  All  Christendom  rejoiced  as  when  Jeru- 
salem was  captured  by  the  first  crusaders. 

The  battle  of  Lepanto  holds  an  important  place  in  history, 
because  it  marks  the  turning  point  of  the  long  struggle  between 
the  Mohammedans  and  Christians,  which  "had  now  been  going 
on  for  nearly  one  thousand  years.  The  Ottoman  Turks,  though 
they  afterwards  made  progress  in  some  quarters,  never  recovered 
the  prestige  they  lost  in  that  disaster,  and  their  power  thence- 
forward steadily  declined. 

582.  The  Death  of  Philip  (1598).  In  the  year  1588  Philip 
made  his  memorable  attempt  with  the  so-called  "Invincible 
Armada"  upon  England,  at  this  time  the  stronghold  of  Prot- 
estantism. As  we  shall  see  a  little  later,  he  failed  utterly  in  the 
undertaking.    Ten  years  after  this,  death  ended  his  reign. 

583.  Later  Events  :  the  Expulsion  of  the  Moriscos  (1609- 
I610)  ;  Loss  of  the  Netherlands.  From  the  death  of  Philip  II 
Spain  declined  in  power,  reputation,  and  influence.  This  was 
due  very  largely  to  the  bigotry  and  tyranny  of  her  rulers.  Thus, 
under  Philip  III  (i  598-1 621)  a  severe  loss,  one  from  which  they 
never  recovered,  was  inflicted  upon  the  manufactures  and  other 
industries  of  the  country  by  the  expulsion  of  the  Moriscos.^  Philip 
really  believed  that  this  driving  out  of  the  misbelievers  would  be 
a  service  pleasing  to  God,  even  as  was  the  driving  out  by  the 
Hebrews  of  the  Canaanites  from  Palestine.  But  he  was  actuated 
also  by  other  motives  in  expelling  the  unhappy  Moriscos.    They 

1  The  name  given  the  Moslem  Moors  who,  after  the  conquest  of  Granada  (sect.  513), 
remained  in  the  country  and  under  persecution  outwardly  embraced  Christianity. 


4o6  THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  SPAIN  [§  583 

were  accused,  and  not  without  ground,  so  desperate  had  persecu- 
tion rendered  them,  of  plotting  with  their  co-rehgionists  for  the 
invasion  of  Spain,  and  thus  endangering  the  peace  and  unity  of 
the  land. 

Accordingly  during  the  years  1609  and  1610  all  persons  of 
Moorish  descent — more  than  half  a  million  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent, skillful,  and  industrious  inhabitants  of  the  peninsula  — 
were  driven  into  exile,  chiefly  to  North  Africa.  The  empty 
dwellings  and  neglected  fields  of  once  populous  and  gardenlike 
provinces  told  how  fatal  a  blow  Spain  had  inflicted  upon  herself. 
She  had  secured  religious  unity, — but  at  a  great  price. 

At  the  very  moment  that  Spain  was  being  so  deeply  wounded 
in  the  peninsula  she  received  an  incurable  hurt  in  her  outside 
possessions.  In  the  Truce  of  1609  (sect.  624)  she  was  forced 
virtually  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  Protestant  Neth- 
erlands, whose  revolt  against  the  tyranny  of  Philip  II  has  been 
mentioned.  In  the  secession  of  these  provinces  Spain  lost  her 
most  valuable  dependency,  and  now  disappears  as  a  power  of  the 
first  rank  from  the  stage  of  history.^ 

Even  the  very  brief  review  which  we  have  made  of  her  sixteenth- 
century  history  will  not  fail  to  have  revealed  at  least  two  of  the 
main  causes  of  her  failure  and  ciuick  decadence ;  first,  a  false 
imperial  policy  in  Europe  which  involved  her  in  endless  and 
fruitless  wars ;  and,  second,  political  despotism  and  religious 
intolerance. 

References.  Rokertson,  W.,  Histoiy  of  the  Reigit  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
the  Fifth,  3  vols.  ,Presc<itt,  W.  II.,  Ilistoty  of  the  Reis^n  of  Phi/if  the  Second, 
3  vols,  (this  and  the  preceding  work  by  Robertson  are  reckoned  among  the 
classics  of  historical  literature).  Armstko.ng,  E.,  The  Em feivr  Charles  V,  2  vols. 
Stirling-M.AXWEI.I,,  W.,  The  Cloister  Life  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth. 
Hu.ME,  M.  A.  S.,  The  Spanish  People,  chaps,  ix-xi ;  Spain:  its  Greatness  and 
Decay;  and  Philip  11  of  Spain.  Lea,  M.  C,  'Jhe  Moriscos  of  Spain  :  their 
Conversion  and  Elxpulsion. 

1  Yet  it  was  not  till  1643  that  the  Spanish  troops  were  beaten  in  a  prcat  battle.  In 
the  Italian  wars  of  1495-1507  the  "  Great  Captain  "  Gonzalo  de  Ctirdoba  had  developed 
tactics  suited  to  the  special  qualities  of  .Spanish  soldiers,  and  it  took  other  nations  more 
than  a  century  to  learn  how  to  beat  .Spaniards  in  the  open  field.  Hut  Spain  lost  her 
ascendancy  even  while  her  military  superiority  remained. 


CHAPTER  LVI 
THE  TUDORS  AND  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION 

(1485-1603) 

I.  INTRODUCTORY 

584.  The  Tudor  Period.  The  Tudor  period^  was  an  eventful 
and  stirring  time  for  the  English  people.  It  witnessed  among 
them  great  progress  in  art,  science,  and  trade,  and  a  literary  out- 
burst such  as  the  world  had  not  seen  since  the  best  days  of 
Athens.  But  the  great  event  of  the  period  was  the  Reformation. 
It  was  under  the  sovereigns  of  this  house  that  England  was 
severed  from  papal  Rome,  and  Protestantism  became  firmly 
established  in  the  island.  To  tell  how  these  things  were  effected 
will  be  our  chief  aim  in  the  present  chapter. 

585.  The  English  Reformation  first  a  Revolt  and  then  a 
Reform.  The  Reform.ation  in  England  was,  more  distinctly  than 
elsewhere,  a  double  movement.  First,  England  was  separated 
violently  from  the  ecclesiastical  empire  of  Rome,  but  without  any 
essential  change  being  made  in  doctrines  and  in  the  ritual  (the  set 
form  of  worship).  This  was  accomplished  under  Henry  VIII. 
Second,  the  English  Church,  thus  rendered  independent  of  Rome, 
gradually  changed  its  teachings  and  its  ritual.  This  was  effected 
chiefly  under  Edward  VI.  So  the  movement  was  first  a  revolt 
and  then  a  reform. 

586.  The  Oxford  Humanist  Reformers.  The  soil  in  England 
was,  in  a  considerable  measure,  prepared  for  the  seed  of  the 
Reformation  by  the  labors  of  the  humanists  (sect.  529).  Among 
them  three  men,  Colet,  Erasmus,  and  More,  stand  preeminent  as 
promoters  of  the  New  Learning. 

1  The  Tudor  sovereigns  were  Henry  VII  (1485-1509),  Henry  VIII  (1509-1547), 
Edward  VI   (1547-155^),  Mary  (1553-155S),  and  Elizabeth  (1558-1603). 

407 


408 


THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION 


§  586 


John  Colet  (1466-15 19)  was  leader  and  master  of  the  little 
band.  His  generous  enthusiasm  was  kindled  in  Italy.  It  was  an 
important  event  in  the  histoiy  of  the  Reformation  when  Colet 
crossed  the  Alps  to  learn  Greek  at  the  feet  of  the  Greek  exiles ; 
for  on  his  return  to  England  he  brought  back  with  him  not 
only  an  increased  love  for  the  classical  learning  but  a  fervent  zeal 

for  religious  reform,  inspired,  per- 
haps, by  the  stirring  eloquence  of 
Savonarola. 

Desiderius  Erasmus  (1467?- 
1536)  of  Rotterdam  went  to  Eng- 
land to  learn  Greek.  There  he 
came  into  close  friendship  with 
Colet,  More,  and  other  lovers  of 
learning,  with  whom  he  declared 
he  could  have  been  happy  in 
Scythia.  He  was  the  leader  of  the 
humanistic  movement  in  the  North, 
as  Petrarch  had  been  the  father  of 
the  movement  in  the  South.  His 
celebrated  satire  entitled  MoricE 
Encomium,  or  "Praise  of  Folly" 
(1509),  was  directed  against  the 
foibles  of  all  classes  of  society,  but  particularly  against  the  sins 
of  "unholy  men  in  holy  orders."  A  little  later  (in  15 16)  Erasmus 
published  his  Novum  Instrumcntnm,  the  Greek  text  of  the  New 
Testament  with  a  Latin  version.  These  publications  must  be 
given  a  prominent  place  among  the  agencies  which  prepared  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  Northern  peoples  for  the  Reformation. 
Thomas  More  (1478-1535)  was  declared  by  Colet  to  be  the 
sole  genius  in  all  England.  He  was  a  man  with  whom  men  were 
said  to  "fall  in  love."  As  the  author  of  Utopia  he  is,  perhaps, 
after  Erasmus,  the  best  known  of  all  the  humanists  of  the  North. 
He  was  drawn,  or  rather  forced,  into  political  life,  and  of  him 
and  his  writings  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter,  in 
connection  with  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  (sect.  600). 


Fk;.  112.    Sir  Thomas  Mokk 
(After  the  painting  by  Holbein) 


§587]  BENEVOLENCES  409 

Than  this  early  Oxford  movement,  nothing  better  illustrates 
the  relation  of  the  humanistic  revival  in  the  North  to  the  religious 
reform.  Here  the  humanist  was  the  reformer.  But  the  Oxford 
reformers,  it  should  be  carefully  noted,  were  not  Protestant  re- 
formers. They  believed  in  the  divine  character  of  the  papal 
supremacy.  They  wished  indeed  to  reform  the  Papacy,  but  not 
to  destroy  it.  They  did  not  wish  to  see  the  mediaeval  unity  of 
Christendom  broken.  They  had  no  quarrel  with  the  creed  of 
the  Catholic  Church.  Erasmus  denounced  the  doctrines  of  Luther, 
and  More  died  a  martyr's  death  rather  than  deny  the  papal 
supremacy. 

II.  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  VII  (1485-1509) 

587.  Benevolences.  The  besetting  sins  of  Henry  VII,  the  first 
of  the  Tudors,  were  avarice  and  a  love  of  despotic  rule.  One 
device  adopted  by  the  king  for  wringing  money  from  his  wealthy 
subjects  was  what  were  euphemistically  termed  "  Benevolences." 
Magna  Carta  forbade  the  king  to  impose  taxes  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  Common  Council.  But  Henry  did  not  like  to  convene 
Parliament,  as  he  wished  to  rule  like  the  kings  of  the  Continent, 
guided  simply  by  his  own  free  will.  So  benevolences  were  made 
to  take  the  place  of  regular  taxes.  These  were  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  gifts  extorted  from  the  well-to-do  by  moral  pressure. 

One  of  Henry's  ministers.  Cardinal  Morton,  was  particularly 
successful  in  his  appeals  for  gifts  of  this  kind.  To  those  who 
lived  splendidly  he  would  say  that  it  was  very  evident  they  were 
quite  able  to  make  a  generous  donation  to  their  sovereign;  while  to 
others  who  lived  in  a  narrow  and  pinched  way  he  would  represent 
that  their  economical  mode  of  life  must  have  made  them  wealthy. 
This  teasing  dilemma  received  the  name  of  "Morton's  fork." 

588.  Maritime  Discoveries.  It  was  during  this  reign  that 
great  geographical  discoveries  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  the 
world.  Soon  after  Columbus  had  announced  to  Europe  the  exist- 
ence of  land  to  the  west,  Henry  commissioned  John  Cabot,  a 
Venetian  navigator  doing  business  in  England,  and  his  sons  to 
make  explorations  in  tlie  Western  seas.    In  his  westward  voyage 


410  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [§589 

Cabot  ran  against  the  American  continent  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newfoundland,  and  took  possession  of  the  country 
in  the  name  of  the  EngHsh  sovereign  (1497).  Upon  this  discov- 
ery and  other  alleged  explorations  of  John  Cabot  and  his  son 
Sebastian  the  English  based  their  claim  to  the  whole  of  the  Amer- 
ican coast  from  Labrador  down  to  Florida.  This  claim  included 
the  best  part  of  North  America, — what  was  destined  to  be  the 
third  and  most  spacious  home  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

III.  ENGLAND  SEVERED  FROM  THE  PAPACY  BY 
HENRY  Vni   (1509-1547) 

589.  Cardinal  Wolsey.  Henr\'  VH  died  in  1509,  leaving  the 
throne  to  his  son  Henry,  an  energetic  and  headstrong  youth  of 
eighteen  years.  We  must  here  at  the  opening  of  the  young  king's 
reign ^  introduce  his  greatest  minister,  Thomas  Wolsey  (1475?- 
1530).  This  man  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  of 
his  generation.  He  was,  as  Holinshed  characterizes  him,  "very  elo- 
quent and  full  of  wit ;  but  passingly  ambitious."  Henry  made  him 
Archbishop  of  York  and  Lord  Chancellor  of  the  realm  ;  the  Pope 
made  him  a  cardinal,  and  afterwards  papal  legate  in  England.  He 
was  now  virtually  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  both  State  and  Church. 

590.  Henry  as  "Defender  of  the  Faith."  It  was  in  the  eighth 
year  of  Henry  VIII's  reign  that  Martin  Luther  tacked  upon  the 
door  of  the  Wittenberg  church  his  famous  ninety-five  theses. 
England  was  stirred  with  the  rest  of  Western  Christendom. 
When,  a  little  later,  Luther  attacked  directly  the  papal  power, 
Henry  wrote  a  Latin  treatise  refuting  the  arguments  of  the  auda- 
cious monk.  The  Pope,  Leo  X,  rewarded  Henry's  Catholic  zeal 
by  conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  "Defender  of  the  Faith." 

1  In  1 5 12,  joining  what  was  known  as  the  Holy  League,  —  a  union  against  the  French 
king,  of  which  the  Pope  was  the  head, —  Henry  made  his  first  campaign  in  France. 
While  Henry  was  across  the  Channel,  James  IV  of  Scotland  thought  to  give  aid  to  the 
French  king  by  invading  England.  The  Scottish  army  was  met  by  the  English  force  at 
Flodden,  beneath  the  Cheviot  Hills,  and  completely  overwhelmed  (15  f}).  King  James 
was  killed,  and  the  flower  of  the  Scottish  nobility  was  left  dead  upon  the  field.  It  was 
the  most  terrible  disaster  that  had  ever  befallen  the  Scottish  nation.  Scott's  poem 
.\farmion,  a  Talc  of  Flodden  Field,  commemorates  the  battle. 


§591]       HEXRY'S  DIVORCE  FROM  CATHERINE  411 

This  title  was  retained  by  Henry  after  the  separation  of  Eng- 
land from  the  Papal  See,  and  is  borne  by  his  latest  successor 
today,  although  he  is  "defender"  of  quite  a  different  faith  from 
that  in  the  defense  of  which  Henry  first  earned  the  title. 

591.  Henry  seeks  a  Divorce  from  Catherine.    We  have  now 
to  relate  some  circumstances  which  very  soon  changed  Henry  from 


Fig.  113.    IIh.\K\    \111.    i.\iLci  a  painuuL;  In  y/('//'(7//j 


a  zealous  supporter  of  the  Tapacy  into  a  bitter  enemy.  Henry's 
marriage — he  married  Catherine  of  Aragon,  the  widow  of  his 
brother  Arthur — had  been  prompted  by  policy  and  not  by  love. 
Of  the  live  children  born  of  the  union,  all  had  died  save  a  sickly 
daughter  named  ]Mary.  In  these  successive  afflictions  Henry  saw 
or  feigned  to  see  a  sign  of  Heaven's  displeasure  because  he  had 
taken  to  wife  the  widow  of  his  brother. 

And  now  a  new  circumstance  arose,  if  it  had  not  existed  for 
some  time  previous  to  this.    Henry  fell  in  love  with  Anne  Boleyn, 


412  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [§592 

a  beautiful  and  vivacious  maid  of  honor  in  the  queen's  household. 
This  new  affection  so  quickened  the  king's  conscience  that  he 
soon  became  fully  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  put  Catherine 
aside.  Accordingly  Henry  asked  the  Pope,  Clement  VII,  to  grant 
him  a  divorce.  Clement  gave  no  immediate  decision,  but  after 
about  two  years'  delay  ordered  Henry  and  Catherine  both  to 
appear  before  him  at  Rome. 

592.  The  Fall  of  Wolsey;  his  Death  (1530).  Henry's  pa- 
tience was  now  completely  exhausted.  Becoming  persuaded  that 
Wolsey  was  not  exerting  himself  as  he  might  to  secure  the  divorce, 
he  banished  him  from  court.  The  hatred  of  Anne  Boleyn  and  of 
others  pursued  the  fallen  minister.  Finally  he  was  arrested  on  the 
preposterous  charge  of  high  treason.  While  on  his  way  to  London 
the  unhappy  minister,  broken  in  spirit  and  in  health,  was  pros- 
trated by  a  fatal  fever.  As  he  lay  dying  in  the  arms  of  the  kind 
monks  of  Leicester  Abbey,  he  uttered  these  self-censuring  words : 
"Had  I  served  my  God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served  my  king.  He 
would  not  have  given  me  over  in  my  gray  hairs." 

Wolsey  had  indeed  sunk  his  priestly  office  in  that  of  the 
stateman,  and  as  a  statesman  he  had  often  stifled  the  scruples 
of  conscience  in  obedience  to  the  king's  unholy  wishes  and 
commands. 

593.  Thomas  Cromwell.  After  the  disgrace  of  Wolsey  an 
attendant  of  his  named  Thomas  Cromwell  rapidly  assumed  in 
Henry's  regard  the  place  from  which  the  cardinal  had  fallen. 
For  the  space  of  ten  years  this  strong  but  unscrupulous  man 
shaped  the  policy  of  Henry's  government.  The  period  during 
which  his  power  was  supreme  has  been  called  the  English  Reign 
of  Terror.  The  executioner's  ax  was  often  wet  with  the  blood  of 
those  who  stood  in  his  way,  or  who  in  any  manner  incurred  his  or 
the  king's  displeasure. 

It  was  to  the  bold  suggestions  of  this  man  that  Henry  now  lis- 
tened. Cromwell's  advice  to  the  king  was  to  waste  no  more  time 
in  negotiating  with  the  Pope,  but  at  once  to  renounce  his  jurisdic- 
tion, proclaim  himself  supreme  head  of  the  Church  in  England, 
and  then  get  a  decree  of  divorce  from  his  own  courts. 


§  594]  THE  ACT  OF  SUPREMACY  413 

594.  First  Acts  in  the  Breach  with  Rome  (1533-1534). 
The  advice  of  Cromwell  was  acted  upon,  and  by  a  series  of  steps 
England  was  swiftly  carried  out  from  under  the  authority  of  the 
Roman  See.  Henry  first  virtually  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  a 
secret  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,  notwithstanding  a  papal  decree 
threatening  him  with  excommunication  should  he  dare  to  do  so. 
Thomas  Cranmer,  a  friend  whom  Henry  had  made  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  now  formed  a  court,  tried  the  case,  and  of  course 
declared  the  king's  marriage  with  Catherine  null  and  void. 

The  following  year  Henry  procured  from  Parliament  the  pas- 
sage of  the  important  Act  of  Annates,  which  forbade  absolutely 
the  payment  to  Rome  of  the  first  fruits  of  archbishoprics  and 
bishoprics,  and  ordered  that  these  should  henceforth  be  paid  to 
the  English  crown. 

595.  The  Act  of  Supremacy  (1534).  At  Rome  the  acts  of 
Henry  and  his  Parliament  were  denounced  as  acts  of  impious 
usurpation.  The  Pope  issued  a  bull  excommunicating  Henry  and 
relieving  his  subjects  from  their  allegiance. 

Henry  now  took  the  final  and  decisive  step.  He  got  from  Par- 
liament the  celebrated  Act  of  Supremacy.  This  statute  made 
Henry  "the  only  Supreme  Head  in  earth  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land," vesting  in  him  absolute  control  of  its  offices  and  affairs 
and  turning  into  his  hands  the  revenue  which  had  hitherto  flowed 
into  Rome's  treasury.  A  denial  of  the  title  given  the  king  by 
the  statute  was  made  high  treason. 

Such  a  break  with  the  past  met  of  course  with  much  disapproval, 
and  many  persons  were  put  to  death  under  the  statute.  The  most 
illustrious  victims  of  this  tyranny  were  John  Fisher,  Bishop  of 
Rochester,  and  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  for  several  years  was  one 
of  Henry's  chief  councilors.  The  execution  of  Thomas  More  par- 
ticularly created  widespread  condemnation  and  dismay. 

596.  The  Suppression  of  the  Monasteries  (1536-1539).  The 
suppression  of  the  monasteries  was  one  of  Henry's  early  acts  as 
the  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  resolved  upon 
their  destruction  because,  in  the  first  place,  he  coveted  their 
wealth,  which  at  this  time  included  probably  one  fifth  of  the  lands 


414  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [^  597 

of  the  realm.  Further,  the  monks  were  openly  or  secretly  opposed 
to  Henry's  claims  of  supremacy  in  religious  matters ;  and  this 
naturally  caused  him  to  regard  them  with  jealousy  and  disfavor. 

In  order  to  make  the  act  of  suppression  appear  as  reasonable 
as  possible,  it  was  planned  to  make  the  charge  of  immorality  its 
ostensible  ground.  Accordingly  two  royal  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  inspect  the  monasteries  and  make  a  report  upon 
what  they  might  see  and  learn.  If  we  may  believe  the  report, 
some  of  the  smaller  houses  were  conducted  in  a  most  shameful 
manner.  The  larger  houses,  however,  were  fairly  free  from  faults. 
^Nlany  of  them  served  as  schools,  hospitals,  and  inns,  and  all  dis- 
tributed alms  to  the  poor  who  knocked  at  their  gates. 

But  the  undoubted  usefulness  and  irreproachable  character  of 
these  larger  foundations  did  not  avail  to  avert  ruin  from  them  also. 
During  the  years  from  1537  to  1539  all  were  dissolved,  their  pos- 
sessors generally  surrendering  the  property  voluntarily  into  the 
hands  of  the  king  lest  a  worse  thing  than  the  loss  of  their  houses 
should  come  upon  them.  In  all  there  were  six  hundred  and  forty- 
five  monasteries  broken  up.  The  monastic  buildings  were  generally 
dismantled,  every  scrap  of  iron  or  lead  being  torn  from  them,  and 
their  unprotected  walls  left  to  sink  into  picturesque  ivy-clad  ruins. 

A  portion  of  the  vast  wealth  which  came  into  Henry's  hands 
through  all  these  confiscations  was  used  in  founding  schools  and 
colleges  and  for  other  public  purposes ;  but  by  far  the  greater 
portion  of  the  landed  property  was  sold  at  merely  nominal  prices 
or  given  outright  to  the  favorites  of  the  king.  ]\Iany  of  the  lead- 
ing English  families  of  today  trace  the  titles  of  their  estates  from 
these  confiscated  lands  of  the  religious  houses.  Thus  a  new  aris- 
tocracy was  raised  up  whose  interests  led  them  to  oppose  any 
return  to  Rome ;  for  in  such  an  event  their  estates  were  liable, 
of  course,  to  be  restored  to  the  monasteries. 

597.  Effects  upon  Parliament  of  the  Suppression  of  the 
Monasteries.  The  effects  of  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries 
upon  the  Upper  House  of  Parliament  were,  for  the  time  being, 
most  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  English  constitutional  liberty. 
The  House  of  Lords  had  hitherto  often  been  a  check  upon  the 


§598]  UNIFORMITY  OF  BELIEF  415 

royal  power.  By  the  destruction  of  the  religious  houses  that 
branch  of  Parliament,  already  greatly  reduced  in  strength  by  the 
decay  of  the  temporal  peerage,  was  still  further  weakened  through 
the  casting  out  of  the  abbots  and  priors  who  held  seats  in  that 
chamber/  At  the  same  time  the  spiritual  lords  who  were  left,  that 
is,  the  two  archbishops  and  the  bishops,  became  mere  dependents 
of  the  king,  whom  the  Act  of  Supremacy  had  made  head  of  the 
English  Church  without  any  superior  on  earth. 

Thus  did  the  House  of  Lords  almost  cease  to  be  a  body  with  a 
mind  and  will  of  its  own.  Since  the  House  of  Commons  contained 
many  servile  nominees  of  the  king,  the  English  government  now 
became  something  like  an  absolute  monarchy.  It  was  only  after 
a  tremendous  struggle,  as  we  shall  see,  that  the  English  people 
were  enabled  to  wrest  from  their  kings  the  power  which  thus  had 
come  into  their  hands  largely  through  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  separation  from  Rome,  and  to  restore  to  the  government 
its  earlier  character. 

598.  Act  to  secure  Uniformity  of  Belief  (1539).  In  the  same 
year  that  Parliament  gave  into  Henry's  hands  the  last  of  the 
property  of  the  monastic  orders,  it  passed  a  bill  called  an  Act  for 
Abolishing  Diversity  of  Opinions.  By  this  statute  the  teachings 
of  the  old  Church  respecting  the  real  presence  in  the  Eucharist, 
the  celibacy  of  the  priesthood,  confession  to  a  priest,  and  other 
tenets  were  approved  as  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  God,  and  it  was 
made  a  crime  for  any  person  to  hold,  to  teach,  or  to  practice 
opinions  opposed  to  any  of  these  dogmas. 

What  the  Church  of  England  should  be  called  under  Henry  it 
would  be  hard  to  say.  It  was  not  Protestant ;  and  it  was  just  as 
far  from  being  truly  Catholic.  That  it  was  distinctively  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  is  shown  by  the  character  of  the  persecutions 
that  took  place.  Catholics  and  Protestants  alike  were  harassed 
and  put  to  death.  Thus,  on  one  occasion  three  Catholics  who  de- 
nied that  the  king  was  the  rightful  head  of  the  Church  and  three 
Protestants  who  disputed  the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  in  the 
Eucharist  were  dragged  on  the  same  sled  to  the  place  of  execution. 

1  Twenty-six  abbots  and  two  priors  were  expelled. 


4i6  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [§599 

599.  Henry's  Death  and  Character;  his  Work.  Henry  died 
in  1547.  Very  diverse  views  of  his  character  have  been  held. 
He  was  admittedly  meddlesome,  cruel,  arbitrary,  and  selfish. 
Even  if  the  English  people  are  indebted  to  him  for  their  national 
independent  Church,  still  they  owe  him  for  this  no  gratitude ; 
for  what  he  did  here  proceeded  primarily  from  the  most  ignoble 
impulses  and  motives. 

In  another  sphere,  however,  Henry  accomplished  a  work  which 
entitles  him  to  the  grateful  remembrance  of  a  people  who  pride 
themselves  on  their  mastery  of  the  sea.  He  had  the  vision  to 
discern  that  England's  dominion  must  be  sought  not  on  the  Euro- 
pean Continent  but  on  the  ocean.  Hence  he  took  a  deep  interest 
in  naval  affairs.  At  a  time  when  the  Continental  sovereigns  were 
creating  standing  armies,  he,  as  it  has  been  put,  created  for  Eng- 
land a  "standing  navy."  He  brought  to  perfection  the  sailing 
warship  and  gave  it  precedence  over  the  oared  vessel,  which  up  to 
this  time  had  held  the  chief  place  in  the  world's  war  navies. 
Thus,  under  Henry  the  English  navy,  in  the  words  of  an  eminent 
naval  authority,  "was  becoming  an  entirely  new  thing,  a  thing 
the  world  had  never  seen  before."  The  change  was  somewhat  like 
that  effected  when  the  steamship  replaced  the  sailing  vessel. 

600.  Literature  under  Henry  VIII;  More's  Utopia.  The  most 
prominent  literary  figure  of  this  period  is  Sir  Thomas  More.  The 
work  upon  which  his  fame  as  a  writer  mainly  rests  is  his  Utopia, 
or  "Nowhere,"  a  romance  like  Plato's  Republic  or  Sir  Philip 
Sidney's  Arcadia.  It  pictures  an  imaginary  kingdom  away  on  an 
island  in  the  New  World,  then  just  discovered,  where  the  laws, 
manners,  and  customs  of  the  people  were  represented  as  being 
ifieally  perfect.  It  was  the  wretchedness  of  the  lower  classes,  the 
religious  intolerance,  the  despotic  government  of  the  times  which 
inspired  the  Utopia.  "No  such  cry  of  pity  for  the  poor,"  says 
(Ireen,  "had  been  heard  since  the  days  of  Piers  Plowman." 
Kut  More's  was  not  simply  such  a  cry  of  despair  as  was  that  of 
Langland.  He  saw  a  better  future;  and  with  a  view  of  reforming 
them,  pointed  f)ut  the  existing  evils  in  society.  He  did  this  by 
telling   how   things   were   in    "Nowhere." — how   the  houses   and 


§601]  CHANGES  IN  THE  RELIGION  417 

grounds  were  all  inviting,  the  streets  broad  and  clean  ;  how  every- 
body was  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  no  one  was  obliged  to 
work  more  than  six  hours  a  day  ;  how  drinking  houses,  brawls,  and 
wars  were  unknown  ;  how  in  this  happy  republic  every  person 
had  a  part  in  the  government,  and  was  allowed  to  follow  what 
religion  he  chose. 

In  this  wise  way  More  suggested  improvements  in  social,  polit- 
ical, and  religious  matters.  He  did  not  expect,  however,  that 
Henry  would  follow  all  his  suggestions,  for  he  closes  his  account  of 
the  Utopians  with  this  admission :  "  I  confess  that  many  things  in 
the  commonwealth  of  Utopia  I  rather  wish  than  hope  to  see 
adopted  in  our  own." 

IV.  CHANGES  IN  DOCTRINE  AND  RITUAL  UNDER 
EDWARD  VI   (1547-1553) 

601.  Changes  in  the  Religion.  In  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  a  Succession  Act  passed  in  Henry's  reign,  his  only  son, 
Edward,  succeeded  him.  The  young  king  was  carefully  taught 
the  doctrines  of  the  reformers,  and  many  changes  were  made 
in  the  teachings  and  service  of  the  English  Church,  which  carried 
it  farther  away  from  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  is  these  changes  in 
religion  that  constitute  the  matters  most  worthy  of  our  attention. 

Under  the  new  regime  all  pictures  and  crosses  were  cleared 
from  the  churches ;  the  use  of  tapers,  holy  water,  and  incense 
was  discontinued ;  the  veneration  of  the  Virgin  and  the  keeping 
of  saints'  days  were  prohibited;  belief  in  purgatory  was  de- 
nounced, and  prayers  for  the  dead  were  interdicted ;  the  real  or 
bodily  presence  of  Christ  in  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacrament 
was  denied ;  the  prohibition  against  the  marriage  of  the  clergy 
was  annulled ;  and  the  services  of  the  Church,  which  hitherto — 
save  as  to  some  portion  of  them  during  the  last  three  years  of 
Henry's  reign — had  been  conducted  in  Latin,  were  ordered  to  be 
said  in  the  language  of  the  people. 

In  order  that  the  provision  last  mentioned  might  be  effectually 
carried  out,  the  English  Book  of  C 0771m on  Prayer  was  prepared 


41 8  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [§602 

by  Archbishop  Cranmer,  This  book,  which  was  in  the  main  simply 
a  translation  of  the  old  Latin  Missal  and  Breviary,  with  the  subse- 
cjuent  change  of  a  word  here  and  a  passage  there  to  keep  it  in 
accord  with  the  growing  new  doctrines,  is  the  same  that  is  used  in 
the  Anglican  Church  at  the  present  time. 

In  1552  were  published  the  famous  Forty-two  Articles  of  Reli- 
gion, which  formed  a  compendious  creed  of  the  reformed  faith. 
These  articles,  reduced  finally  to  thirty-nine,  form  the  present 
standard  of  faith  and  doctrine  in  the  Church  of  England. 

602.  Persecutions  to  secure  Uniformity.  These  sweeping 
changes  and  innovations  in  the  old  creed  and  in  the  services  of 
the  Church  would  have  worked  little  hardship  or  wrong  had  only 
everybody,  as  in  More's  happy  republic,  been  left  free  to  favor 
and  follow  what  religion  he  would.  But  unfortunately  it  was 
only  away  in  "Nowhere"  that  men  were  allowed  perfect  free- 
dom of  conscience  and  worship.  The  idea  of  toleration  had  not 
yet  dav\'ned  upon  the  world,  save  in  the  happier  moments  of  some 
such  generous  and  wide-horizoned  soul  as  his  that  conceived 
the  Utopia. 

By  royal  edict  all  preachers  and  teachers  were  forced  to  sign 
the  Forty-two  Articles  ;  and  severe  laws,  known  as  the  Acts  for  the 
Uniformity  of  Service,  punished  with  severe  penalties  any  de- 
parture from  the  forms  of  the  new  prayer  book.  Many  persons 
during  the  reign  were  imprisoned  for  refusing  to  conform  to  the 
new  worship  ;  while  two  at  least  were  given  to  the  flames  as 
"heretics  and  contemners  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer." 

V.  REACTION  UNDER  MARY  (1553-1558) 

603.  Accession  of  Mary;  Reconciliation  with  Rome  (1554). 
Upon  the  death  of  Edward  his  sister  Mary,  who  was  a  conscien- 
tious adherent  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  came  to  the  throne. 
Soon  after  her  accession  she  was  married  to  Philip  II  of  Spain. 
This  marriage  had  been  planned  by  Philip's  father,  the  Emperor 
Charles  V,  in  the  hope  that  thereby  England  might  become 
actually  or  in  effect  a  part  of  the  Spanish  empire. 


§604]  THE  MARTYRS  419 

The  majority  of  the  English  prelates  had  never  in  their  hearts 
approved  the  recent  ecclesiastical  changes.  Their  zeal  for  the 
ancient  Church,  allied  with  Alary 's,  now  quickly  brought  about  the 
full  reestablishment  of  the  Catholic  worship  throughout  the  realm. 
Parliament  voted  that  the  nation  should  return  to  its  obedience  to 
the  Papal  See ;  and  then  the  members  of  both  Houses  fell  upon 
their  knees  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  papal  legate  absolution 
from  the  sin  of  heresy  and  schism.  The  sincerity  of  their  repent- 
ance was  attested  by  their"  repeal  of  all  the  acts  by  which  the  new 
worship  had  been  set  up  in  the  land.  The  joy  at  Rome  was  un- 
bounded.   The  prodigal  had  returned  to  his  father's  house. 

But  not  quite  everything  done  by  the  reformers  was  undone. 
Parliament  refused  to  restore  the  confiscated  Church  lands,  which 
was  very  natural,  as  much  of  this  property  was  now  in  the  hands 
of  the  lords  and  commoners.  Mary,  however,  in  her  zeal  for 
the  ancient  faith,  restored  a  great  part  of  the  property  still  in 
the  possession  of  the  crown,  and  refounded  many  of  the  ruined 
monasteries  and  abbeys. 

604.  The  Martyrs :  Latimer  and  Ridley  (1555),  and  Cranmer 
(i556).  With  the  reestablishment  of  the  Catholic  worship,  the 
Protestants  in  their  turn  were  subjected  to  persecution.  Be- 
tween two  and  three  hundred  persons  suffered  death  during 
this  reign  on  account  of  their  religion.  The  three  most  emi- 
nent martyrs  were  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Cranmer.  Latimer 
and  Ridley  were  burned  at  the  same  stake.  As  the  torch  was 
applied  to  the  fagots,  the  aged  Latimer — he  was  seventy  years 
old — encouraged  his  companion  with  these  memorable  words: 
"Be  of  good  comfort,  Master  Ridley,  and  play  the  man;  we  shall 
this  day,  by  God's  grace,  light  such  a  candle  in  England  as  I 
trust  shall  never  be  put  out." 

Mary  should  not  be  judged  harshly  for  the  part  she  took  in  the 
persecutions  that  disfigured  her  reign.  It  was  not  her  fault,  but 
the  fault  of  the  age,  that  these  things  were  done.  Punishment  of 
heresy  was  then  regarded,  by  almost  all  Catholics  and  Protestants 
alike,  as  a  duty  which  could  be  neglected  by  those  in  authority 
only  at  the  peril  of  Heaven's  displeasure. 


420 


THE  ENGLISH  REIORIMATION 


L§605 


VI.  FINAL  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  PROTESTANTISM  UNDER 
ELIZABETH    (LS58-1603) 

605.  The  Queen.    Elizabeth,  who  was  twenty-five  years  of  age 
when  the  death  of  Alary  called  her  to  the  throne,  was  the  daughter 

of  Henry  VIII  and 
Anne  Boleyn.  She 
seems  to  have  inher- 
ited the  characteristics 
of  both  parents  ;  hence, 
perhaps,  the  inconsist- 
encies of  her  disposi- 
tion. She  possessed  a 
masculine  intellect,  a 
strong  will,  admirable 
judgment,  and  great 
political  tact.  It  was 
these  qualities  which 
rendered  her  reign  the 
strongest  and  most  il- 
lustrious in  the  record 
of  England's  sover- 
eigns, and  raised  the 
nation  from  a  position 
of  comparative  insig- 
nificance to  a  foremost 
place  among  the  states 
of  Europe.  But  along 
with  her  good  and 
queenly  qualities  Eliz- 
abeth had  many  un- 
amiabletraits.  Shewas 
Deception  and  false- 


IP 

f\  ~    '  ^    , 

Kj:       '»"*'''' 

\ 

^^bBIh 

^P^/"^ 

V  ^&3H|^H| 

^^^t^" 

'^ii^^ssi^H^I^^H 

^^^ 

■^ 

^^H 

MRy^^ 

j^HaBHj 

1^^^^ 

^HBH 

'/>^^C 

L^^^ 

^^^SH 

k  ''-'^ 

f^SBimw^^Si 

H^B^  ^^mDHfl 

Sl^nVHt^v^^^^^nHmU 

I^Bp  :\*  i)*r-  "^^  >       l^^^^^l 

i^--'''''^^ ' '  vS 

wt 

t 

Fif;.  114.    Queen  Kli/.ahkth.   (T\\g  Ermine 

Portrail,  from  the  collection  of  the  Marquis  of 

Salisbury,  Hatfield  House) 


capricious,  treacherous,  and  unscrupulous 
hood  were  her  usual  weapons  in  diplomacy. 

Elizabeth  never  married,  notwithstanding  Parliament  was  con- 
stantly urging  her  to  do  so,  and  suitors,  among  whom  was  Philip  II 


§606]  ELIZABETH'S  MINISTERS  421 

of  Spain,  were  as  numerous  as  those  who  sought  the  hand  of 
Penelope.  She  declared — very  late  in  her  reign,  however — that 
on  her  coronation  day  she  was  married  to  the  English  realm,  and 
that  she  would  have  no  other  husband.  She  remained  to  the  end 
the  "fair  Vestal  throned  by  the  West." 

606.  Her  Ministers.  One  secret  of  the  strength  and  popularity 
of  Elizabeth's  government  was  the  admirable  judgment  she  exer- 
cised in  her  choice  of  advisers.  The  courtiers  with  whom  she 
crowded  her  receptions  might  be  frivolous  persons ;  but  about 
her  council  board  she  gathered  the  wisest  men  of  the  realm.  And 
yet  Elizabeth's  government  was  really  her  own.  We  now  know 
that  her  advisers  did  not  have  as  much  to  do  with  shaping  the 
policies  of  the  reign  as  was  formerly  believed. 

607.  Reestablishment  of  the  Reformed  Church.  As  ]\Iary 
undid  the  work  in  religion  of  Henry  and  Edward,  so  now  her 
work  was  undone  by  Elizabeth.  Elizabeth  favored  the  reformed 
faith  rather  from  policy  than  from  conviction.  It  was  to  the 
Protestants  alone  that  she  could  look  for  support;  her  title  to  the 
crown  was  denied  by  every  true  Catholic  in  the  realm,  for  she  was 
the  child  of  that  marriage  which  the  Pope  had  forbidden  under 
pain  of  the  penalties  of  the  Church. 

The  religious  houses  which  had  been  refounded  by  Mary  were 
again  dissolved,  and  Parliament  by  the  two  important  Acts  of 
Supremacy  and  Uniformity  (1559)  reestablished  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Church  of  England.  The  .'\ct  of  Supremacy  required 
all  the  clergy,  and  every  person  holding  office  under  the  crown, 
to  take  an  oath  declaring  the  queen  to  be  the  supreme  governor 
of  the  realm  in  all  spiritual  as  well  as  in  all  temporal  things. 
For  refusing  to  deny  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  many  Catholics 
during  Elizabeth's  reign  suffered  death,  and  many  more  endured 
within  the  Tower  the  worse  horrors  of  the  rack. 

The  Act  of  Uniformity  forbade  any  clergyman  to  use  any  but 
the  Anglican  liturgy,  and  required  every  person  to  attend  the 
Established  Church  on  Sunday  and  other  holy  days.  The  perse- 
cutions which  arose  under  this  law  caused  many  Catholics  to 
seek  freedom  of  worship  in  other  countries. 


422  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  [§608 

608.  The  Protestant  Nonconformists;  Puritans  and  Sepa- 
ratists. The  Catholics  were  not  the  only  persons  among  Eliza- 
beth's subjects  who  were  opposed  to  the  Anglican  worship.  There 
were  Protestant  nonconformists — the  Puritans  and  Separatists — 
who  troubled  her  almost  as  much  as  the  Catholics. 

The  Puritans  were  so  named  because. they  desired  a  purer  form 
of  worship  than  the  Anglican.  The  term  was  applied  to  them  in 
derision;  but  the  sterling  character  of  those  thus  designated  at 
length  turned  the  epithet  of  reproach  into  a  badge  of  honorable 
distinction.  They  did  not  withdraw  from  the  Established  Church, 
but  remaining  within  its  pale  labored  to  reform  it  and  to  shape 
its  discipline  to  their  notions.  These  Puritans  were  destined  to 
play  a  prominent  part  in  the  later  affairs  of  England. 

The  Separatists  were  still  more  zealous  reformers  than  the  Puri- 
tans. In  their  hatred  of  everything  that  bore  any  resemblance  to 
the  Catholic  worship,  they  flung  away  the  surplice  and  the  prayer 
book,  severed  all  connection  with  the  Established  Church,  and 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Under  the  Act  of  Uniform- 
ity they  were  persecuted  with  great  severity,  so  that  multitudes 
were  led  to  seek  an  asylum  upon  the  Continent.  It  was  from 
among  these  exiles  gathered  in  Holland  that  a  little  later  came  the 
passengers  of  the  Mayflower  and  Speedwell, —  the  Pilgrim  Fathers, 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  civil  liberty  in  the  New  World. 

609.  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots.  A  large  part  of  the 
history  of  Elizabeth's  reign  is  intertwined  with  the  story  of  her 
cousin,  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,  the  "modern  Helen," 
"the  most  beautiful,  the  weakest,  the  most  attractive,  and  most 
attracted  of  women."  She  was  the  daughter  of  James  V  of  Scot- 
land, and  to  her  in  ri^ht  of  birth  —  according  to  all  Catholics, 
who  denied  the  validity  of  Henry's  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn  — 
belonged  the  English  crown  next  after  Mary  Tudor. 

Upon  the  death,  in  1560,  of  her  husband,  Francis  II  of  France, 
Mary  gave  up  life  at  the  French  court  and  returned  to  her  native 
land.  She  was  now  in  her  nineteenth  year.  The  subtle  charm  of 
her  beauty  seems  to  have  bewitched  all  who  came  into  her  pres- 
ence, save  the  more  zealous  of  the  reformers,  who  could  never 


§6091 


MARY  STUART,  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS 


423 


forget  that  their  young  sovereign  was  a  Catholic.  The  stern  old 
John  Knox  made  her  life  miserable.  He  called  her  a  "  Moabite," 
and  other  opprobrious  names,  till'  she  wept  from  sheer  vexation. 

Other  things  now  conspired  with  Mary's  hated  religion  to 
alienate  entirely  the  love  of  her  people.  Her  second  husband. 
Lord  Darnley,  was  murdered.  The  queen  was  suspected  of  hav- 
ing some  guilty  knowledge  of  the  affair.  She  was  imprisoned 
and  forced  to  abdicate  in  favor  of 
her  infant  son  James. 

Escaping  from  prison,  Mary  fled 
into  England.  Here  she  threw  her- 
self upon  the  generosity  of  her  cousin 
Elizabeth,  and  entreated  aid  in  recov- 
ering her  throne.  But  the  part  which 
she  was  generally  believed  to  have 
had  in  the  murder  of  her  husband, 
her  disturbing  claims  to  the  English 
throne,  and  the  fact  that  she  was  a 
Catholic  all  conspired  to  determine 
her  fate.  She  was  placed  in  confine- 
ment, and  for  nineteen  years  re- 
mained a  prisoner.  During  all  this 
time  Mary  was  the  center  of  innu- 
merable plots  on  the  part  of  the 
Catholics,  which  aimed  at  setting  her 
upon  the  English  throne.  The  Pope, 
Pius  V,  aided  these  conspirators  by  a 
bull  excommunicating  Elizabeth  and  releasing  her  subjects  from 
their  allegiance.  Finally  a  carefully  laid  conspiracy  to  assassinate 
Elizabeth  and  place  Mary  on  the  throne  was  unearthed.  The 
Spanish  king,  Philip  II,  was  implicated.  He  wrote,  "The  affair 
is  so  much  in  God's  service  that  it  certainly  deserves  to  be  sup- 
ported, and  we  must  hope  that  our  Lord  will  prosper  it,  unless 
our  sins  be  an  impediment  thereto." 

Mary  was  tried  for  complicity  in  the  plot,  was  declared  guilty, 
and,  after  some  hesitation,  feigned  or  otherwise,  on  the  part  of 


A  A' 


Fig.  115.  Mary  Stuart  as 
QuEEX  OF  France.  (After 
a  contemporary  and  authentic 
portrait  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale,  Paris  ;  from  Cusfs 
A'o/t's  on  the  An  the/!  fie  Por- 
traits of  Mary  Queen  ofSeots) 


424  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  L§  610 

Elizabeth,  was  ordered  to  the  block  (1587).  Even  after  Eliza- 
beth had  signed  the  warrant  for  her  execution  she  attempted  to 
evade  responsibility  in  the  matter  by  causing  a  suggestion  to  be 
made  to  Mary's  jailers  that  they  should  kill  her  secretly. 

610.  The  "Invincible  Armada";  "Britain's  Salamis"  (isss). 
The  execution  of  Mary  Stuart  led  immediately  to  the  memorable 
attempt  against  England  by  the  Spanish  Armada.  Before  her 
death  the  Queen  of  Scots  had  by  will  disinherited  her  son  and 
bequeathed  to  Philip  II  of  Spain  her  claims  to  the  English  crown. 
To  enforce  these  rights,  to  avenge  the  death  of  Mary,  to  punish 
Elizabeth  for  aiding  his  rebellious  subjects  in  the  Netherlands, 
and  to  deal  a  fatal  blow  to  the  Reformation  in  Europe  by  crush- 
ing the  Protestants  of  England,  Philip  resolved  upon  making  a 
tremendous  effort  for  the  conquest  of  the  heretical  island.  Vast 
preparations  were  made  for  carrying  out  the  project.  Great  fleets 
were  gathered  in  the  harbors  of  Spain,  and  the  veteran  army 
which  was  carrying  on  the  war  in  the  Netherlands  (sect.  624)  was 
to  cooperate  with  the  naval  armament. 

Pope  Sixtus  V  encouraged  Philip  in  the  enterprise,  which  was 
thus  rendered  a  sort  of  crusade.  At  last  the  fleet,  consisting  of 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  ships,  the  largest  naval  armament 
that  had  ever  appeared  upon  the  Atlantic,  and  boastfully  called 
the  "Invincible  Armada,"  set  sail  from  Lisbon  for  the  Channel. 
The  approaching  danger  produced  a  perfect  fever  of  excitement 
in  England.  Never  did  Roman  citizens  rise  more  splendidly  to 
avert  some  terrible  peril  threatening  the  republic  than  the  Eng- 
lish people  now  arose  as  a  single  man  to  defend  their  island 
realm  against  the  revengeful  project  of  Spain.  The  imminent 
danger  served  to  unite  all  classes,  the  gentry  and  the  yeomanry, 
Protestants  and  Catholics.  The  latter  might  intrigue  to  set  a 
Mary  Stuart  on  the  English  throne,  but  they  were  not  ready  to 
betray  their  lanfl  into  the  hands  of  the  hated  Spaniards. 

On  July  19,  1588,  the  Armada  was  first  descried  by  the  watch- 
men on  the  English  cliffs.  It  swept  up  the  Channel  in  the  form 
of  a  great  crescent,  seven  miles  in  width  from  tip  to  tip  of  horn. 
The  English  ships,  about  eighty  in  number,  whose  light  structure 


§611]  THE  INVINCIBLE  ARMADA  425 

and  swift  movements,  together  with  the  superior  gunnery  of  their 
sailors,  gave  them  a  great  advantage  over  the  clumsy  Spanish  gal- 
leons, almost  immediately  began  to  impede  their  advance,  and  for 
seven  days  incessantly  harassed  the  Armada.  One  night,  as  the 
damaged  fleet  lay  off  the  harbor  of  Calais,  the  English  (now 
reenforced  to  some  hundred  and  forty  ships,  mostly  small ;  fifteen 
or  sixteen  bore  the  main  brunt)  sent  fire  ships  among  the  vessels, 
whereby  a  number  were  destroyed  and  a  panic  created  among  the 
others.  A  determined  attack  the  next  day  by  Howard,  Drake, 
and  Lord  Henry  Seymour  inflicted  a  still  severer  loss  upon  the  fleet. 

The  Spaniards,  thinking  now  of  nothing  save  escape,  spread 
their  sails  in  flight,  proposing  to  get  away  by  sailing  northward 
around  the  British  Isles.  But  the  storms  of  the  northern  seas 
dashed  many  of  the  remaining  ships  to  pieces  on  the  Scottish 
and  the  Irish  shores.  Barely  one  third  of  the  ships  of  the 
Armada  ever  reentered  the  harbors  whence  they  sailed. 

Well  may  the  great  fight  in  the  Channel  which  shattered  the 
Armada  be  called  "Britain's  Salamis";  for  like  Athens'  Salamis 
it  revealed  the  weakness  and  proclaimed  the  downfall  of  a  vast 
despotic  empire,  while  at  the  same  time  it  disclosed  the  strength 
and  announced  the  rise  of  a  new  free  state  destined  to  a  great 
future.  But  the  destruction  of  the  Armada  concerned  other  than 
purely  English  and  Spanish  interests.  It  marked  the  turning 
point  in  the  great  duel  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism. 
It  not  only  decided  that  England  was  to  remain  Protestant, 
but  it  foreshadowed  the  independence  of  the  Protestant  Nether- 
lands, and  assured,  or  greatly  helped  to  assure,  the  future  of 
Protestantism  in  Scandinavia  and  in  North  Germany. 

611.  Maritime  and  Colonial  Enterprises.  The  crippling  of  the 
naval  power  of  Spain  left  England  mistress  of  the  seas.  The  little 
island  realm  now  entered  upon  the  most  splendid  period  of  her 
history.  These  truly  were  "the  spacious  times  of  great  Elizabeth." 
The  English  people,  stirred  by  recent  events,  seemed  to  burn  with 
a  feverish  impatience  for  maritime  adventure  and  glory.  Many  a 
story  of  the  daring  exploits  of  English  sea  rovers  during  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  seems  like  a  repetition  of  some  tale  of  the  old  \'ikings. 


426  THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION  l§  612 

Especially  deserving  of  mention  among  the  enterprises  of  these 
stirring  and  romantic  times  are  the  undertakings  and  adventures  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  (1552  ?-i6i8).  Several  expeditions  were  sent 
out  by  him  for  the  purpose  of  making  explorations  and  forming 
settlements  in  the  New  World.  One  of  these,  which  explored  the 
central  coasts  of  North  America,  returned  with  such  glowing 
accounts  of  the  beauty  and  richness  of  the  land  visited,  that,  in 
honor  of  the  virgin  queen,  it  was  named  Virginia. 

Raleigh  attempted  to  establish  colonies  in  the  new  land  (1585- 
1590),  but  the  settlements  were  unsuccessful.  The  settlers,  how- 
ever, when  they  returned  home,  brought  with  them  tobacco  and 
pipes,  and  Raleigh  introduced  smoking  in  Europe ;  tradition  says 
they  also  brought  potatoes,  which  he  planted  in  Ireland.  These, 
together  with  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  were  the  chief  return  the 
New  World  made  to  the  Old  for  the  great  number  of  domesticated 
plants  and  grains  which  it  received  from  thence.^ 

612.  The  Queen's  Death  (1603).  The  closing  days  of  Eliza- 
beth's reign  were  to  her  personally  dark  and  gloomy.  She  seemed 
to  be  burdened  with  a  secret  grief  as  well  as  by  the  growing  in- 
firmities of  age.  She  died  in  the  seventieth  year  of  her  age  and 
the  forty-fifth  of  her  reign.  With  her  ended  the  Tudor  line  of 
English  sovereigns. 

Literature  of  the  Elizabethan  Era 

613.  Influences  Favorable  to  Literature.  The  years  covered 
by  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  constitute  one  of  the  most  momentous 
periods  in  history.    It  was  the  age  when  Europe  was  most  deeply 

1  Potatoes  and  the  tobacco  plant,  but  not  the  habit  of  smoking,  had  already  been 
brought  to  Spain.  Potatoes  were  not  then  known  in  North  America  ;  the  first  colonists 
might  have  got  potatoes  on  the  ships  that  brought  them  home  ;  they  had  not  been  in 
America  through  a  summer  to  enjoy  a  crop  of  their  own.  Other  American  plants  now 
largely  cultivated  in  the  f)ld  World  arc  tomatoes,  beans  (not  only  the  Lima  bean  but  the 
common  American  bean,  called  in  England  the  I-'rench  bean),  squashes,  pumpkins,  sweet 
potatoes  (the  ''  potato  "  of  Shakespeare's  time),  peanuts,  cassava  (tapioca),  cacao  (choco- 
late), vanilla,  cinchona  (quinine),  grapevines  whose  roots  the  phylloxera  does  not  destroy, 
the  large  cultivated  strawbcrr\'  (of  Chilean  origin),  and  the  prickly  pear  (grown  as  food 
for  the  cochineal  insect,  but  also  yielding  a  fruit,  and  running  wild  in  hot  dry  countries). 


§613]  ELIZABETHAN  LITERATURE  427 

stirred  by  the  Reformation.  It  was,  too,  a  period  of  marvelous 
physical  and  intellectual  expansion  and  growth.  The  discov- 
eries of  Columbus  and  others  had  created  a  New  World.  The 
Renaissance  had  re-created  the  Old  World, — had  revealed  an  un- 
suspected treasure  in  the  civilizations  of  the  past.  Thus  every- 
thing conspired  to  quicken  men's  intellect  and  stimulate  their 
imagination. 

An  age  of  such  activity  and  achievement  almost  of  necessity 
gives  birth  to  a  strong  and  vigorous  literature.  And  thus  is 
explained,  in  part  at  least,  how  during  this  period  the  English 
people — for  no  people  of  Europe  felt  more  deeply  the  stir  and 
movement  of  the  times,  nor  helped  more  to  create  this  same  stir 
and  movement,  than  the  English  nation — should  have  developed 
a  literature  of  such  originality  and  richness  and  strength  as  to 
make  it  the  prized  inheritance  of  all  the  world.  "The  great  writers 
who  shine  in  the  literary  splendor  of  the  Elizabethan  Age,"  says 
an  eminent  critic,  "were  the  natural  product  of  the  newly  awak- 
ened, thoughtful  English  nation  of  that  day." 

To  make  special  mention  of  all  the  great  writers  who  adorned 
the  Elizabethan  era  would  carry  us  quite  beyond  the  limits  of 
our  book.  Having  said  something  of  the  influence  under  which 
they  wrote,  we  will  simply  add  that  this  age  was  the  age  of 
Shakespeare  and  Spenser  and  Bacon.^ 

References.  Seekohm,  F.,  The  Oxford  Reformers  (a  volume  of  rare  fresh- 
ness and  charm  on  the  fellow-work  and  influence  of  the  Oxford  reformers, — 
Colet,  Erasmus,  and  More).  The  Cambridge  Modern  History,  vol.  i,  chap.  xiv. 
Green,  J.  R.,  Sho7-t  History  of  the  English  People,  chaps,  vi  and  vii.  Froude, 
J.  A.,  English  Seamen  in  the  Sixteenth  Centtny  and  The  Spanish  Story  of  the 
Armada.  Gasquet,  F.  A.,  Heniy  VIII  and  the  English  Monasteries,  2  vols., 
and  The  Eve  of  the  Reformation  (these  are  the  works  of  an  eminent  Catholic 
scholar).  Creighton,  M.,  Queen  Elisabeth  and  Cardinal  IVolsey.  Beesly,  E.  S., 
Queen  Elizabeth.  For  concise  narrations  of  the  events  dealt  with  in  this 
chapter,  see  Gardiner's,  Montgomery's,  Terry's,  Coman  and  Kendall's, 
Andrews',  and  Cheyney's  textbooks  on  English  history. 

1  William  Shakespeare  (1564-1616)  ;  Edmund  Spenser  (i552?-i5C)c)) :  Francis  Bacon 
(1561-1626).    Shakespeare  and  Dacon,  it  will  be  noticed,  outlived  Elizabeth. 


CHAPTER  LVII 

THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS ;  RISE  OF  THE 
DUTCH  REPUBLIC 

(1572-1609) 

614.  The  Country.  The  name  NctJierlands  (lowlands)  was 
formerly  applied  to  all  that  district  in  the  northwest  of  Europe, 
much  of  it  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  now  occupied  by  the 
kingdoms  of  the  Netherlands  and  Belgium.    A  large  part  of  this 


Fk;.  1 1  6.    Tvi'iCAL  Dutch  Scene:  Zaaxdam.   (P^iom  a  photograph) 

region  is  simply  the  delta  accumulations  of  the  Rhine  and  other 
rivers  emptying  into  the  North  Sea.  Originally  it  was  often  over- 
flowed by  its  streams  and  inundated  by  the  ocean. 

But  this  unpromising  morass,  protected  at  last  by  heavy  dikes 
seaward  against  the  invasions  of  the  ocean,  and  by  great  embank- 
ments inland  against  the  overflow  of  its  streams,  was  destined  to 
become  the  site  of  the  most  potent  cities  of  Europe,  and  the  seat 
of  one  of  the  foremost  commonwealths  of  modern  times.  No 
country  in  Europe  made  greater  progress  in  civilization  during 
the  mediaeval  era  than  the  Netherlands.  At  the  opening  of  the 
sixteenth  century  they  contained  a  crowded  and  busy  popula- 
tion of  three  million  souls.  The  ancient  marshes  had  been  trans- 
formed into  carefully  kept  gardens  and  orchards.     The  walled 

428 


§6151  THE  LOW  COUNTRIES  UNDER  CHARLES  V     429 

cities  numbered  between  two  and  three  hundred.  Antwerp  rivaled 
even  the  greatest  of  the  Itahan  cities.  "I  was  sad  when  I  saw 
Antwerp,"  writes  a  Venetian  ambassador,  "for  I  saw  Venice 
surpassed." 

615.  The  Low  Countries  under  Charles  V  (isis-isss).  The 
Netherlands  were  part  of  those  possessions  over  which  the 
Emperor  Charles  V  ruled  by  hereditary  right.  Toward  the  close 
of  his  reign  he  set  up  here  the  Inquisition  with  the  object  of  sup- 
pressing the  heresy  of  the  reformers.  Many  persons  perished  at 
the  stake  and  upon  the  scaffold,  or  were  strangled,  or  buried 
alive.  But  when  Charles  retired  to  the  monastery  at  Yuste  the 
reformed  doctrines  were,  notwithstanding  all  his  efforts,  far  more 
widely  spread  and  deepl}^  rooted  in  the  Netherlands  than  when 
he  entered  upon  their  extirpation  by  fire  and  sword. 

616.  Accession  of  Philip  II.  In  1555,  in  the  presence  of  an 
august  and  princely  assembly  at  Brussels,  Charles  V  abdicated  the 
crown  whose  weight  he  could  no  longer  bear,  and  placed  it  upon 
the  head  of  his  son  Philip.  What  sort  of  man  this  son  was  we 
have  already  learned  (sect.  580). 

Philip  remained  in  the  Netherlands  four  years,  employing  much 
of  his  time  in  devising  means  to  root  out  the  heresy  of  Protes- 
tantism. In  1559  he  set  sail  for  Spain,  never  to  return.  His  ar- 
rival in  the  peninsula  was  celebrated  by  an  aiito-da-je  at  Valladolid, 
festivities  which  ended  in  the  burning  of  thirteen  persons  whom 
the  Inquisition  had  condemned  as  heretics.  It  was  not  delight  at 
the  sight  of  suffering  that  led  Philip  on  his  home-coming  to  be  a 
spectator  at  these  awful  solemnities.  He  doubtless  wished  through 
his  presence  to  give  sanction  to  the  work  of  the  Holy  Office  and 
to  impress  all  with  the  fact  that'  unity  of  religion  in  Spain,  as  the 
necessary  basis  of  peace  and  unity  in  the  state,  would  be  main- 
tained by  him  at  any  and  every  cost. 

617.  The  Iconoclasts  (isee).  After  Philip's  departure  from 
the  Netherlands  the  persecution  of  the  Protestants  went  on  with 
increased  severity.  The  pent-up  indignation  of  the  people  at 
length  burst  forth  in  uncontrollable  fury.  They  gathered  in  great 
mobs  and  proceeded  to  demolish  every  image  they  could  find  in 


430 


THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS       [§  618 


the  churches  throughout  the  country.  The  monasteries,  too,  were 
sacked,  their  Hbraries  burned,  and  the  inmates  driven  from  their 
cloisters.  The  tempest  destroyed  innumerable  art  treasures,  which 
have  been  as  sincerely  mourned  by  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful  as 
the  burned  rolls  of  the  Alexandrian  library  have  been  lamented 
by  the  lovers  of  learning. 

618.  The  Duke  of  Alva  and  William  of  Orange.    The  year 
following  this  outbreak  Philip  sent  to  the  Netherlands  a  veteran 

Spanish  army,  headed  by  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  a  man  after 
Philip's  own  heart,  deceitful, 
fanatical,  and  merciless.  Alva 
was  one  of  the  ablest  generals 
of  the  age,  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  his  coming  threw 
the  provinces  into  a  state  of 
the  greatest  agitation  and 
alarm.  The  eyes  of  all  Neth- 
erlanders  were  now  turned  to 
Prince  William  of  Orange, 
one  of  the  leading  noblemen 
of  the  lowlands,  as  their  only 
deliverer.  The  Prince  was 
a  deeply  religious  man,  and 
believed  himself  called  of  Heaven  to  the  work  of  rescuing  his 
country  from  Spanish  tyranny.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  been  a 
Catholic,  having  been  brought  up  as  a  page  in  the  household  of 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  He  now  embraced  Protestantism ;  but 
both  as  a  Catholic  and  as  a  Protestant  he  opposed  persecution  on 
account  of  religious  belief.  His  attitude  here  is  worthy  of  special 
notice,  for  it  set  him  apart  from  the  great  majority  of  his  con- 
temporaries, and  had  a  vast  influence  in  shaping  the  policies  and 
the  destinies  of  the  small  yet  great  commonwealth  of  which  he 
was  to  be  the  founder. 

William  of  Orange  was  a  statesman  rather  than  a  soldier;  yet 
even  as  a  leader  in  war  he  evinced  talent  of  a  high  order.    The 


Fig.  117.  William  of  Orange  (Tkk 

Silent).    (After  a  painting  by  Micre- 

"tielt,  Amsterdam) 


§619]  THE  PACIFICATION  OF  GHENT  431 

Spanish  armies  were  commanded  successively  by  the  most  dis- 
tinguished generals  of  Europe;  but  the  prince  coped  ably  with 
them  all,  and  in  the  masterly  service  which  he  rendered  his  coun- 
try earned  the  title  of  "The  Founder  of  Dutch  Liberties." 

619.  "The  Spanish  Fury";  the  Pacification  of  Ghent  (i576). 
The  year  1576  was  marked  by  a  revolt  of  the  Spanish  soldiers  on 
account  of  their  not  receiving  their  pay,  the  costly  war  having 
drained  Philip's  treasury.  The  mutinous  army  marched  through 
the  land,  pillaging  city  after  city  and  paying  themselves  with  the 
spoils.  The  beautiful  city  of  Antwerp  was  ruined.  The  atrocities 
committed  by  the  frenzied  soldiers  caused  the  outbreak  to  be 
called  "The  Spanish  Fury."  The  terrible  state  of  affairs  led  to 
an  alliance  between  Holland  and  Zealand  and  the  other  fifteen 
provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  known  in  history  as  the  Pacification 
of  Ghent.  The  resistance  to  the  Spanish  crown  had  thus  far  been 
carried  on  without  concerted  action  among  the  several  states. 

620.  The  Treaty  of  Utrecht  (1579).  With  the  Spanish  forces 
under  the  lead  of  commanders  of  distinguished  ability,  the  war 
now  went  on  with  increased  vigor, —  fortune,  with  many  vacil- 
lations, inclining  to  the  side  of  the  Spaniards.  Disaffection  arose 
among  the  Netherlanders,  the  outcome  of  which  was  the  separation 
of  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  provinces.  The  seven  Protes- 
tant states  of  the  North,  the  chief  of  which  were  Holland  and 
Zealand,  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  drew  together  in  a  permanent 
confederation,  known  as  the  Seven  United  Provinces  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, with  the  Prince  of  Orange  as  stadtholder.  In  this  league 
was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  renowned  Dutch  Republic,  a  new 
great  sea-power,  which  for  two  hundred  years  was  to  be  a  potent 
force  in  European  history. 

The  ten  Catholic  provinces  of  the  South,  although  they  con- 
tinued their  contest  with  Philip  a  little  longer,  ultimately  sub- 
mitted to  Spanish  tyranny.  Portions  of  these  provinces  were 
eventually  absorbed  by  France,  while  the  remainder  after  varied 
fortunes  finally  became  the  present  kingdom  of  Belgium.  With 
their  history  we  shall  have  no  further  concern  at  present,  but 
turn  now  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  rising  republic  of  the  North. 


432  THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS       L§  621 

621.  The  "Ban"  and  the  "Apology"  (i58o-i58i).  William 
of  Orange  was,  of  course,  the  animating  spirit  of  the  confederacy 
formed  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht.  In  the  eyes  of  Philip  and  his 
viceroys  he  appeared  the  sole  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  provinces  and  their  return  to  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
obedience.  In  vain  had  Philip  sent  against  him  the  ablest  and 
most  distinguished  commanders  of  the  age;  in  vain  had  he 
endeavored  to  detach  him  from  the  cause  of  his  country  by  mag- 
nificent bribes  of  titles,  offices,  and  fortune. 

Philip  now  resolved  to  employ  public  assassination '  for  the 
removal  of  the  invincible  general  and  the  incorruptible  patriot. 
He  published  a  ban  against  the  prince,  declaring  him  an  outlaw 
and  "the  chief  disturber  of  all  Christendom  and  especially  of 
these  Netherlands,"  and  offering  anyone  who  would  deliver  him 
into  his  hands  "dead  or  alive"  pardon  for  any  crime  he  might 
have  committed,  a  title  of  nobility,  and  twenty-five  thousand 
crowns  in  gold  or  in  lands. 

The  prince  responded  to  the  infamous  edict  by  a  remarkable 
paper  entitled  "The  Apology  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,"  the  most 
terrible  arraignment  of  tyranny  that  was  ever  penned.  The 
"Apology"  was  scattered  throughout  Europe,  and  everywhere 
produced  a  profound  impression.^ 

622.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  (July  25,  1581). 
The  L'nited  Provinces  had  not  yet  formally  renounced  their 
allegiance  to  the  Spanish  crown.  They  now  deposed"  Philip  as 
their  sovereign,  broke  in  pieces  his  seal,  and  put  forth  to  the 
world  their  memorable  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  document 
as  sacred  to  the  Dutch  as  the  Declaration  of  1776  is  to  Americans. 

1  We  use  the  expression  "  public  assassination "'  in  order  to  indicate  a  change  in 
Philip's  methods.  He  had  all  along  tried  to  get  rid  of  the  prince  by  private  or  secret 
assassination.  Now  his  edict  of  outlawry  makes  the  proposed  assassination  avowedly  a 
public  or  governmental  affair.  To  comprehend  this  proceeding  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  in  the  sixteenth  centur)'  assassination  was  not  looked  upon  with  that  utter  abhorrence 
with  which  we  rightly  regard  it.  In  the  petty  slates  of  Italy  it  was  a  weapon  resorted  to 
almost  universally,  and  seemingly  without  any  compunction  of  conscience,  and  even  in 
the  North  many  of  the  rulers  at  one  time  and  another  had  recourse  to  it. 

2  "Apology  "  originally  meant  defense  before  a  court.  From  Plato's  "Apology  of 
Socrates  "  the  name  is  given  to  a  defense  of  a  life  before  the  court  of  public  opinion. 


§  623]  ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  PRINCE  433 

The  preamble  contains  these  words:  "Whereas  God  did  not 
create  the  people  slaves  to  their  prince,  to  obey  his  commands, 
whether  right  or  wrong,  but  rather  the  prince  for  the  sake  of  the 
subjects,  to  govern  them  according  to  equity,  to  love  and  support 
them  as  a  father  his  children  or  a  shepherd  his  fiock,  and  even  at 
the  hazard  of  life  to  defend  and  preserve  them;  [therefore]  when 
he  does  not  behave  thus,  but,  on  the  contrary,  oppresses  them, 
seeking  opportunities  to  infringe  their  ancient  customs  and  privi- 
leges, exacting  from  them  slavish  compliance,  then  he  is  no 
longer  a  prince,  but  a  tyrant,  and  the  subjects  ,  .  .  may  not 
only  disallow  his  authority,  but  legally^  proceed  to  the  choice  of 
another  prince  for  their  defense." 

This  language  was  a  wholly  new  dialect  to  the  ears  of  Philip 
and  of  princes  like  him.  They  had  never  heard  anything  like  it 
before  uttered  in  such  tones  by  a  whole  people.  But  it  was  a 
language  destined  to  spread  wonderfully  and  to  become  very 
common.  We  shall  hear  it  often  enough  a  little  later  in  the  era 
of  the  Political  Revolution.  It  will  become  familiar  speech  in 
England,  in  America,  in  France, —  almost  everywhere. 

623.  Assassination  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  (i584).  "The 
ban  soon  bore  fruit."  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  had  been 
made  upon  his  life,  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  finally  assassinated. 
Philip  approved  the  murder  as  "an  exploit  of  supreme  value  to 
Christendom."  The  murderer  was  put  to  death  with  hideous  tor- 
ture, but  his  heirs  received  the  promised  reward,  being  endowed 
with  certain  of  the  estates  of  the  prince  and  honored  by  eleva- 
tion to  the  rank  of  the  Spanish  nobility. 

624.  The  Truce  of  1609.  Severe  as  was  the  blow  sustained  by 
the  Dutch  patriots  in  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  they  did 
not  lose  heart  but  continued  the  struggle  with  admirable  courage  and 
steadfastness.  Prince  Maurice,  a  mere  youth  of  seventeen  years, 
the  second  son  of  William,  was  chosen  stadtholder  in  his  place. 
He  proved  himself  a  worthy  son  of  the  great  chief  and  patriot. 

The  war  now  went  on  with  unabated  fury.  France  as  well  as 
England  became  involved,  both  fighting  against  Philip,  who  was 
now  laying  claims  to  the  crowns  of  both  these  countries.    The 


434  THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS       [§  625 

destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada  in  1588  marked  the  turning 
point,  yet  not  the  end.  But  Europe  finally  grew  weary  of  the 
seemingly  interminable  struggle,  and  the  Spanish  commanders 
becoming  convinced  that  it  was  impossible  to  reduce  the  Dutch 
rebels  to  obedience  by  force  of  arms,  negotiations  were  entered 
into  which  issued  in  the  celebrated  Truce  of  1609.  This  truce 
was  in  reality  an  acknowledgment  by  Spain  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  Provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  although  the  Spanish 
king  was  so  unwilling  to  admit  the  fact  of  his  inability  to  reduce 
the  rebel  states  to  submission  that  the  treaty  was  termed  simply 
"a  truce  for  twelve  years."  Spain  did  not  formally  acknowledge 
their  independence  until  forty  years  afterwards,  in  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia,  at  the  end  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

625.  Influence  of  the  Establishment  of  the  Dutch  Republic 
upon  both  the  Religious  and  the  Political  Revolution.  The 
successful  issue  of  the  revolt  in  the  Netherlands  meant  much  for 
•the  cause  of  the  reformers.  The  Protestant  Lowlands  formed  a 
sort  of  strategic  point  in  the  great  fight  between  Catholicism  and 
Protestantism.  The  loss  of  this  ground  might  have  proved  fatal 
to  the  Protestant  cause. 

The  establishment  of  the  Dutch  Republic  had  also  great  signifi- 
cance for  the  Political  Revolution.  In  the  seventeenth  century  it 
was  Holland  that  was  the  foremost  champion  of  the  cause  of 
political  freedom  against  Bourbon  despotism.  It  was  a  worthy 
■descendant  of  William  the  Silent^  who,  at  one  of  the  most  critical 
moments  of  English  history,  when  Englishmen  were  struggling 
doubtfully  against  Stuart  tyranny,  came  to  their  help  and  rescued 
English  liberties  from  the  peril  in  which  they  lay  (sect.  696). 

References.  Moti.f.y,  J.  L.,  The  Kise  of  the  Dutch  /\epit/>lie,  3  vols.,  and 
Ifistoiy  of  the  United  A^ethei-laiids,  4  vols.  These  histories  by  Motley  are  clas- 
sical, but  they  lack  in  judicial  spirit.  They  should  be  read  in  connection  with 
Hl.OK,  J.  P.,  History  of  the  People  of  the  Netherlands,  3  vols.  YoUNO,  A.,  Histoty 
of  the  Netherlands.  II.\rrison,  F.,  William  the  Silent.  PiriNAM,  R.,  William 
the  Silent,  2  vols.  For  New  Netherlands,  consult  P^iskk,  J.,  The  Dutch  and 
Quaker  Colonies  in  Ameriea,  2  vols. 

'  The  affable  and  eloquent  prince  was  nicknamed  "the  Silent''  because  as  a  young 
man,  accidentally  learning  a  dangerous  secret,  he  showed  no  sign  of  his  concern. 


CHAPTER  LVIII 

THE  HUGUENOT  WARS  IN  FRANCE 
(1562-1629) 

626.  The  Reformation  in  France.  Before  Luther  posted  his 
ninety-five  theses  at  Wittenberg  there  had  appeared  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris  and  elsewhere  in  France  men  who  from  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures  had  come  to  entertain  opinions  very  hke  those 
of  the  German  reformer.  The  movement  thus  begun  received  a 
fresh  impulse  from  the  uprising  in  Germany  under  Luther.  The 
new  doctrines  found  adherents  especially  among  the  lesser  nobility 
and  the  burgher  class,  and  struck  deep  root  in  the  south, —  the 
region  of  the  old  Albigensian  heresy. 

627.  King  Francis  II,  Catherine  de'  Medici,  and  the  Guises. 
An  understanding  of  the  religious  wars  in  France  requires  that  we 
first  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  chief  earlier  actors  in  the 
drama.  The  drama  opens  with  Francis  II  (i 559-1 560),  a  Valois 
king,^  on  the  French  throne.  His  wife  was  the  young  and 
fascinating  Mary  Stuart  of  Scotland.  Francis  was  a  weak-minded 
boy  of  sixteen  years.  The  power  behind  the  throne  was  the 
chiefs  of  the  family  of  the  Guises,  who  were  zealous  Catholics, 
and  the  king's  mother,  Catherine  de'  Medici. 

Catherine  was  an  Italian.  She  seems  to  have  been  almost  or 
quite  destitute  of  religious  convictions  of  any  kind.  She  was 
determined  to  rule,  and  this  she  did  by  holding  the  balance  of 
power  between  the  two  religious  parties.  When  it  suited  her  pur- 
pose, she  favored  the  Protestants;  and  when  it  suited  her  purpose 
better,  she  favored  the  Catholics.  Through  her  counsels  and  poli- 
cies she  contributed  largely  to  make  France  wretched  through  the 
reigns  of  her  three  sons  and  to  bring  her  house  to  a  miserable  end. 

'  The  \'alois  kings  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  Louis  .\II  (149S-1515),  Francis  1 
(1515-1547),  Henry  II  (1547-1559),  Francis  II  (1559-1560),  Charles  L\  (1560-1574), 
and  Henry  III   (1574-1589). 

435 


436  THE  HUGUENOT  WARS  IN  FRANCE  [^  628 

628.  The  Huguenot'  Leaders:  the  Bourbon  Princes  and 
Admiral  Coligny.  Opposed  to  the  Guises  were  the  Bourbon 
princes,  Antony,  king  of  Navarre,  and  Louis,  Prince  of  Conde. 
Next  after  the  brothers  of  Francis  H,  they  were  heirs  to  the 
French  throne. 

Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Admiral  of  France,  was  "  the  military  hero 
of  the  French  Reformation."  Early  in  life  he  had  embraced  the 
doctrines  of  the  reformers,  and  remained  to  the  last  the  trusted 
and  consistent,  though  ill-starred,  champion  of  the  Protestants. 
His  is  the  most  heroic  figure  that  emerges  from  the  unutterable 
confusion  of  the  times. 

The  foregoing  notice  of  parties  and  their  chiefs  will  suffice  to 
render  intelligible  the  events  which  we  have  now  to  narrate. 

629.  The  Beginning  of  the  War.  After  the  short  reign  of 
Francis  H  his  brother  Charles  came  to  the  throne  as  Charles  IX. 
He  was  only  ten  years  of  age,  so  the  queen  mother  assumed  the 
government  in  his  name.  Pursuing  her  favorite  maxim  to  rule 
by  setting  one  party  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  other,  she  gave  the 
Bourbon  princes  a  place  in  the  government,  and  also  by  a  royal 
edict  gave  the  Huguenots  a  limited  toleration  and  forbade  their 
further  persecution.  It  was  the  violation  by  the  adherents  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise  of  this  edict  of  toleration  that  finally  caused  the 
growing  animosities  of  the  two  parties  to  break  out  in  civil  war. 
Philip  II  of  Spain  sent  an  army  to  aid  the  Catholics,  while  Eliza- 
beth of  England  extended  help  to  the  Huguenots. 

630.  The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day  (August  24, 
1572).  Fight  years  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Catherine 
de'  Medici,  as  a  means  of  cementing  a  treaty  which  had  been 
arranged  between  the  two  parties,  proposed  that  the  Princess 
Margaret,  the  sister  of  Charles,  should  be  given  in  marriage  to 
Henry  of  Bourbon,  the  new  young  king  of  Navarre.  The  an- 
nouncement of  the  proposed  alliance  caused  great  rejoicing  among 
Catholics  and  Protestants  alike,  and  the  chiefs  of  both  parties 
crowded  to  Paris  to  attend  the  wedding. 

'  The  French  Protestants  were  called  Huguenots,  a  name  given  by  their  enemies. 
The  word  is  of  uncertain  derivation. 


§630j     THE  MASSACRE  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW        437 

Before  the  festivities  which  followed  the  nuptial  ceremonies 
were  over,  the  world  was  shocked  by  one  of  the  most  awful 
crimes  recorded  in  history, —  the  massacre  of  the  Huguenots  in 
Paris  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day.  The  circumstances  which  led  to 
this  fearful  tragedy  were  these.  Among  the  Protestant  nobles  who 
came  up  to  Paris  to  attend  the  wedding  was  Admiral  Coligny. 
Jealous  of  his  influence  over  her  son,  Catherine  resolved  upon 
the  death  of  the  admiral.  The  attempt  miscarried,  Coligny 
receiving  only  a  slight  wound  from  the  assassin's  ball.  The 
Huguenots  rallied  about  their  wounded  chief  with  loud  threats 
of  revenge.  Catherine,  driven  on  by  insane  fear,  now  determined 
upon  the  death  of  all  Huguenots  in  Paris  as  the  only  measure  of 
safety.  The  young  king  at  first  refused  to  sign  the  decree  for  the 
massacre ;  but  overcome  at  last  by  the  representations  of  his 
mother,  he  exclaimed,  "I  consent,  provided  not  one  Huguenot  be 
left  alive  in  France  to  reproach  me  with  the  deed." 

A  little  past  the  hour  of  midnight  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day, 
at  a  preconcerted  signal, —  the  tolling  of  a  bell, —  the  massacre 
began.  Coligny  was  one  of  the  first  victims.  For  three  days  and 
nights  the  massacre  went  on  within  the  city.  With  the  capital 
cleared  of  Huguenots,  orders  were  issued  to  the  principal  cities 
of  France  to  purge  themselves  in  like  manner  of  heretics.  In 
many  places  the  decree  was  disobeyed ;  but  in  others  the  orders 
were  carried  out,  and  frightful  massacres  took  place.  The  number 
of  victims  throughout  the  country  is  unknown ;  estimates  differ 
widely,  running  from  two  thousand  to  a  hundred  thousand. 

The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  raised  a  cry  of  execration 
in  almost  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  among  Catholics 
and  Protestants  alike.  Philip  H,  however,  is  said  to  have  received 
the  news  with  unfeigned  joy;  while  Pope  Gregory  XHI  caused 
a  Te  Deiim,  in  commemoration  of  the  event,  to  be  sung  in  the 
church  of  St.  Mark  in  Rome.  Respecting  this  it  should  in  justice 
be  said  that  Catholic  writers  maintain  that  the  Pope  acted  under 
a  misconception  of  the  facts,  it  having  been  represented  to  him 
that  the  massacre  resulted  from  a  plot  of  the  Huguenots  against 
the  royal  family  of  France  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


438 


THE  HUGUENOT  WARS  IN  FRANCE 


[§  631 


i'     > 


631.  Accession  of  Henry  IV  (i589).  Instead  of  exterminat- 
ing heresy  in  France,  the  massacre  only  served  to  rouse  the  Hu- 
guenots to  a  more  determined  defense  of  their  faith.  So  the  country 
was  kept  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  war.  Finally,  in  1589,  the  assas- 
sination of  the  reigning  king  (Henry  III)  brought  to  an  end  the 
House  of  Valois.    Henry  of  Bourbon,  king  of  Navarre,  who  for 

many  years  had  been  the  most 
prominent  leader  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, now  came  to  the  throne  as 
the  first  of  the  Bourbon  kings. 
His  accession  lifted  into  promi- 
nence one  of  the  most  celebrated 
royal  houses  in  European  history. 
The  political  story  of  France,  and 
indeed  of  Europe,  from  this  time 
on  to  the  French  Revolution,  and 
for  some  time  after  that,  is  in 
great  part  the  story  of  the  House 
of  Bourbon. 

Henry  did  not  secure  without 
a  struggle  the  crown  that  was  his 
by  right.  The  nation,  still  mainly 
Catholic,  was  not  ready  to  ac- 
quiesce in  the  accession  to  the 
French    throne   of   a    Protestant 

prince,  and  he  the  leader  and  champion  of  the  hated  Huguenots. 

The  Catholics  declared  for  Cardinal  Bourbon,  Henry's  uncle,  and 

France  was  thus  kept  in  the  swirl  of  civil  war. 

632.  Henry  IV  turns  Catholic  (1593).  After  the  war  had  gone 
on  for  about  four  years  the  quarrel  was  closed,  for  the  time  being, 
by  Henry's  becoming  a  Catholic.  He  was  personally  liked,  even 
by  the  Catholic  chiefs,  and  he  was  well  aware  that  it  was  only  his 
Huguenot  faith  that  prevented  their  being  his  hearty  supporters. 
Hence  his  resolution  to  remove,  by  changing  his  religion,  the  sole 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  ready  loyalty,  and  thus  to  bring 
peace  and  cjuict  to  distracted  France. 


Vu;.  118.    Hknkv   I\',   Kin(;  ok 

France.     (From    a    painting    by 

/''.  Gol/ziits) 


§  633]  THE  EDICT  OF  NANTES  439 

633.  The  Edict  of  Nantes  (i598).  As  soon  as  Henry  had 
become  the  fully  acknowledged  king  of  France,  he  gave  himself 
to  the  work  of  composing  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  The  most 
noteworthy  of  the  measures  he  adopted  to  this  end  was  the  pub- 
lication of  the  celebrated  Edict  of  Nantes.  By  this  decree  the 
Huguenots  were  secured  perfect  freedom  of  conscience  and  prac- 
tical freedom  of  worship.  All  public  offices  and  employments 
were  opened  to  them  the  same  as  to  Catholics.  Moreover,  they 
were  allowed  to  retain  possession  of  a  number  of  fortified  towns 
as  pledges  of  good  faith  and  as  places  of  defense.  Among  these 
places  was  the  important  city  of  La  Rochelle. 

The  granting  of  this  edict  is  memorable  for  the  reason  that  it 
was  the  first  formal  recognition  by  a  great  European  state  of  the 
principle  of  religious  toleration  and  equality.  Here,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  triumph  of  Christianity  over  paganism  in  the 
Roman  Empire,  a  great  nation  makes  a  serious  effort  to  try  to 
get  along  with  two  creeds  in  the  state.  It  was  almost  a  century 
before  even  England  went  as  far  in  the  way  of  granting  freedom 
of  conscience  and  of  worship. 

634.  Character  of  Henry  IV's  Reign;  his  Plans  and  Death. 
With  the  temporary  hushing  of  the  long-continued  quarrels  of 
the  Catholics  and  Protestants,  France  entered  upon  such  a  period 
of  prosperity  as  she  had  not  known  for  many  years.  Henry's 
paternal  solicitude  for  his  humblest  subjects  secured  for  him  the 
title  of  Father  of  his  People.  In  devising  and  carrying  out  his 
measures  of  reform,  Henry  was  aided  by  one  of  the  most  prudent 
and  sagacious  advisers  that  ever  strengthened  the  hands  of  a 
prince, — ^the  illustrious  Duke  of  Sully. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  reign  Henry,  feeling  strong  in  his 
resources  and  secure  in  his  power,  began  to  revolve  in  his  mind 
vast  projects  for  the  aggrandizement  of  France  and  the  weakening 
of  her  old  enemy,  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  in  both  its  branches.^ 

1  In  connection  with  his  designs  against  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  Henry  is  represented 
in  Sully's  Memoirs  as  having  had  in  mind  a  most  magnificent  scheme,  —  the  organization 
of  all  the  Christian  states  of  Europe  into  a  great  confederation  or  commonwealth,  and 
the  abolition  of  war  by  the  creation  of  an  international  peace  tribunal.  This  scheme  is 
known  as  the  "  Grand  Design." 


440 


THE  HUGUENOT  WARS  IN  FRANCE 


[§  635 


He  was  making  great  preparations  for  war,  when  the  dagger  of 
a  fanatic  named  Ravaillac  cut  short  his  life  and  plans  (1610). 

635.  Louis  XIII  (1610-1643);  Cardinal  Richelieu  and  his 
Policy.  The  reign  of  Henry's  son  and  successor,  Louis  XIII, 
was  rendered  notable  by  the  ability  of  his  chief  minister.  Cardinal 
Richelieu  (i 585-1 642),  the  Wolsey  of  France,  one  of  the  most 

remarkable  characters  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  For  the  space  of 
eighteen  years  this  ecclesiastic  was  the 
actual  sovereign  of  France,  and  swayed 
the  destinies  not  only  of  that  country 
but,  it  might  almost  be  said,  those  of 
Europe  as  well. 

Richelieu's  policy  was  twofold  :  first, 
to  render  the  authority  of  the  French 
king  absolute  in  France;  second,  to 
make  the  power  of  France  supreme  in 
Europe. 

636.  Siege  and  Capture  of  La 
Rochelle  (1627-1628) ;  Political  Power 
of  the  Huguenots  broken.  To  reach 
his  first  end  Richelieu  resolved  to 
break  down  the  political  power  of  the 
Huguenot  chiefs,  who,  "  Protestants 
first  and  Frenchmen  afterwards,"  were  constantly  challenging  the 
royal  authority  and  threatening  the  dismemberment  of  France. 
Accordingly  he  led  in  person  an  army  to  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle, 
which  the  Huguenots  were  planning  to  make  the  capital  of  an 
independent  Protestant  commonwealth.  After  a  gallant  resistance 
of  more  than  a  year  the  city  was  compelled  to  open  its  gates. 

The  Huguenots  maintained  the  struggle  a  few  months  longer 
in  the  south  of  France,  but  were  finally  everywhere  reduced  to 
submission.  The  result  of  the  war  was  the  complete  destruction 
of  the  political  power  of  the  French  Protestants.  A  treaty  of  peace 
called  the  Edict  of  Grace  (1629)  left  them,  however,  freedom  of 
worship,  according  to   the  provisions  of   the  Edict  of  Nantes. 


b\G.\  19.  Cakiunai,  Xiciii':- 

LIEU.  (After  the  painting  by 

Philippe  lie  Clumtpagnc) 


§637]  RICHELIEU  441 

This  treaty  properly  marks  the  close  of  the  religious  wars  which 
had  now  distressed  France,  intermittently,  for  two  generations. 

637.  Richelieu  and  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  When  Cardinal 
Richelieu  came  to  the  head  of  affairs  in  France  there  was  going 
on  in  Germany  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Although  Richelieu  had 
just  crushed  French  Protestantism,  he  now  gave  assistance  to 
the  Protestant  German  princes  because  their  success  meant  the 
division  of  Germany  and  the  humiliation  of  Austria.  At  first  he 
extended  aid  in  the  form  of  subsidies  to  Gustavus  Adolphus,  king 
of  Sweden,  who  had  become  the  champion  of  the  German  Prot- 
estants ;  but  later  he  sent  the  armies  of  France  to  take  direct  part 
in  the  struggle. 

Richelieu  did  not  live  to  see  the  end  either  of  the  Thirty  Years' 
War  or  of  that  which  he  had  begun  with  Spain  ;  but  his  policy, 
carried  out  by  others,  finally  resulted,  as  we  shall  learn  hereafter, 
in  the  humiliation  of  both  branches  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg  and 
the  lifting  of  France  to  the  first  place  among  the  powers  of  Europe. 

References.  Baird,  H.  M.,  The  Hugttenots  and  Hemy  of  Xavarre  and 
Theodore  Beza.  Besant,  W.,  Gaspard  de  Coligny.  WiLLERT,  P.  F.,  Heiny  of 
A'avarre.  Hassall,  A.,  The  French  People,  chaps,  x  and  xi.  Lodge,  R.,  Rkhelien. 
Parkman,  F.,  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  AVic  World  (for  the  Huguenots  in 
Florida  and  Brazil,  and  Champlain  and  his  associates).  See  also  Fiske,  J., 
N^ew  England  and  A'czo  Prance,  chaps,  i-iii. 


CHAPTER  LIX 
THE  THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR 

(1618-1648) 

638.  Nature  and  Causes  of  the  War.  The  long  and  calamitous 
Thirty  Years'  War  was  the  last  great  combat  between  Protestant- 
ism and  Catholicism  in  Europe.  It  started  as  a  struggle  between 
the  Protestant  and  the  Catholic  princes  of  Germany,  but  grad- 
ually involved  almost  all  the  European  states,  degenerating  at 
last  into  a  shameful  and  heartless  struggle  for  power  and  territory. 

The  real  cause  of  the  war  was  the  enmity  existing  between  the 
German  Protestants  and  Catholics.  But  if  a  more  specific  cause 
be  sought,  it  will  be  found  in  the  character  of  the  articles  of  the 
celebrated  Religious  Peace  of  Augsburg  (sect.  578).  The  Catho- 
lics and  Protestants  did  not  interpret  alike  the  provisions  of  that 
compromise  treaty.  Each  party  by  its  encroachments  gave  the 
other  occasion  for  complaint.  The  Protestants  at  length  formed 
for  their  mutual  protection  a  league  called  the  Evangelical  Union. 
In  opposition  to  the  Union,  the  Catholics  formed  a  confederation 
known  as  the  Holy  League.  All  Germany  was  thus  prepared  to 
burst  into  the  flames  of  a  religious  war. 

639.  The  Bohemian  Period  of  the  War  (16I8-I623).  The 
flames  that  were  to  desolate  Germany  for  a  generation  were  first 
kindled  in  Bohemia.  The  Protestants  there  rose  in  revolt  against 
their  Catholic  king  and  drove  out  the  Jesuits.  The  insurrection, 
however,  was  soon  suppressed  by  the  newly  elected  Emperor 
Ferdinand  II,  who  was  supported  by  the  Catholic  League.  The 
leaders  of  the  revolt  were  executed,  and  the  reformed  faith  in 
Bohemia  was  almost  uprooted. 

640.  The  Danish  Period  (1625-I629).  Protestantism  in  Ger- 
many seemed  threatened  with  extinction.  The  situation  filled 
not  only  the  Protestant  German  princes  but  all  the  Protestant 

442 


§641]  THE  SWEDISH  PERIOD  443 

powers  of  the  North  with  the  greatest  alarm.  Christian  IV,  king 
of  Denmark,  supported  by  England  and  the  Dutch  Netherlands, 
threw  himself  into  the  struggle — which  was  still  being  carried 
on  in  a  desultory  manner — as  the  champion  of  German  Protes- 
tantism. On  the  side  of  the  Catholics  were  two  noted  com- 
manders,— Tilly,  the  leader  of  the  forces  of  the  Holy  League, 
and  Wallenstein,  a  wealthy 
Bohemian  nobleman,  who 
was  the  commander  of  the 
imperial  army.  What  is 
known  as  the  Danish  period 
of  th;i  war  now  began. 

The  war  proved  disastrous, 
in  the  main,  to  the  Protes- 
tant allies,  and  Christian  IV 
was  finally  constrained  to 
conclude  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  Emperor  and  retire 
from  the  struggle. 

641.  The  Swedish  Period 

(1630-1635).    Gustavus  Adol-      „  ^-  .  ,, 

^  '  Fig.  120.  Gi'STAvus  Adolphus.  (trom 

phus,  king  of  Sweden,  with  a  ^  painting  by  Va,uMe) 

veteran  and  enthuiastic  army 

of  sixteen  thousand  Swedes,  now  appeared  in  North  Germany  as 
the  champion  of  the  dispirited  and  leaderless  Protestants.  Various 
motives  had  concurred  in  leading  him  thus  to  intervene  in  the 
struggle.  He  was  urged  to  this  course  by  his  strong  Protestant 
convictions  and  sympathies.  Furthermore,  the  progress  of  the 
imperial  arms  in  North  Germany  was  imperiling  Swedish  interests 
in  the  Baltic  and  threatening  to  establish  the  supremacy  of  the 
Austrian  Hapsburgs^  over  what  was  regarded  by  the  sovereigns  of 
Sweden  as  a  Swedish  lake. 

A  shocking  episode  of  the  Swedish  period  of  the  war  was  the 
sack  of  the  city  of  Magdeburg  by  the  imperial  army  under  Tilly. 
Thousands  of  the  inhabitants  perished  miserably.    Tilly  wrote  to 

1  Emperor  I'-erdinand  was  thi'  head  of  the  House  of  Hapsbiirg. 


444  THE  THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR  [§641 

Ferdinand  that  since  the  fall  of  Troy  and  Jerusalem  such  a  vic- 
tory had  never  been  seen.  "I  am  sincerely  sorry,"  he  adds, 
"that  the  ladies  of  your  imperial  family  could  not  have  been 
present  as  spectators." 

The  cruel  fate  of  Magdeburg  excited  the  alarm  of  the  Protes- 
tant princes,  and  they  now  gave  Gustavus,  what  they  had  hith- 
erto jealously  withheld,  wholehearted  support.  Tilly  was  twice 
defeated,  and  in  his  last  battle  fatally  wounded.  In  the  death  of 
Tilly,  P'erdinand  lost  his  most  trustworthy  general. 

The  imperial  cause  appeared  desperate.  There  was  but  one 
man  in  Germany  who  could  turn  the  tide  of  victory  that  was  run- 
ning so  strongly  in  favor  of  the  Swedish  monarch.  That  man  was 
Wallenstein,  whom  Ferdinand  had  recently  dismissed  from  his 
service,  but  to  whom  he  now  turned.  Wallenstein  agreed  to  raise 
an  army,  provided  his  control  of  it  should  be  absolute.  Ferdinand 
was  constrained  to  grant  all  that  his  old  general  demanded.  Wal- 
lenstein now  raised  his  standard,  to  which  rallied  the  adventurers 
not  only  of  Germany  but  of  all  Europe  as  well.  The  array  was  a 
motley  host,  bound  together  by  no  bonds  of  patriotism  or  convic- 
tions, but  only  by  the  spell  and  prestige  of  the  name  of  Wallenstein, 

With  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men  obedient  to  his  commands, 
Wallenstein  risked  a  battle  with  the  Swedes  on  the  memorable 
field  of  Liitzen,  in  Saxony.  The  Swedes  won  the  day,  but  lost 
their  leader  and  sovereign  (1632). 

We  may  sum  up  the  results  of  Gustavus  Adolphus'  interven- 
tion in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in  these  words  of  the  historian 
Gindely:  "He  averted  the  overthrow  with  which  Protestantism 
was  threatened  in  Germany." 

Notwithstanding  the  death  of  their  great  king  and  commander, 
the  Swedes  did  not  withdraw  from  the  war.  Hence  the  struggle 
went  on,  the  advantage  being  for  the  most  part  with  the  Protes- 
tant allies.  Ferdinand,  at  just  this  time,  was  embarrassed  by  the 
suspicious  movements  of  his  general,  Wallenstein.  Becoming  con- 
vinced that  he  was  meditating  the  betrayal  of  the  imperial  cause, 
the  Emperor  caused  him  to  be  assassinated.  This  event  marks 
very  nearly  the  end  of  the  Swedish  period  of  the  war. 


§  642]  THE  SWEDISH-FRENCH  PERIOD  445 

642.  The  Swedish-French  Period  (i635-i648).  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  selfish  and  ambitious  interference  of  France,  the 
woeful  war  which  had  now  desolated  Germany  for  half  a  genera- 
tion might  here  have  come  to  an  end,  for  both  sides  were  weary 
of  it.  But  Richelieu  was  not  willing  that  the  war  should  end  until 
the  House  of  Austria  was  completely  humbled  (sect.  637).  Ac- 
cordingly he  encouraged  the  Swedes  to  carry  on  the  war,  promis- 
ing them  the  aid  of  the  French  armies. 

The  war  thus  lost  in  large  part  its  original  character  of  a  con- 
tention between  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  princes  of  Ger- 
many, and  became  a  political  struggle  between  the  House  of 
Austria  and  the  House  of  Bourbon,  in  which  the  former  was 
fighting  for  existence,  the  latter  for  aggrandizement. 

And  so  the  miserable  war  went  on  year  after  year.  It  had 
become  a  heartless  and  conscienceless  struggle  for  spoils.  The 
Swedes  fought  to  fasten  their  hold  upon  the  mouths  of  the  Ger- 
man rivers,  the  French  to  secure  a  grasp  upon  the  Rhine  lands. 
The  earlier  actors  in  the  drama  at  length  passed  from  the  scene, 
but  their  parts  were  carried  on  by  others. 

643.  The  Peace  of  Westphalia  (i648).  The  war  was  finally 
ended  by  the  celebrated  Peace  of  Westphalia.  The  chief  articles 
of  this  important  peace  may  be  made  to  fall  under  two  heads, — 
those  relating  to  territorial  boundaries  and  those  respecting 
religion. 

As  to  the  first,  these  cut  short  in  three  directions  the  actual  or 
nominal  limits  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Switzerland  and  the 
United  Netherlands  were  severed  from  it;  for  though  both  of 
these  countries  had  been  for  a  long  time  practically  independent 
of  the  Empire,  this  independence  had  never  been  acknowledged 
in  any  formal  way.  The  claim  of  France  to  the  three  bishoprics 
of  Metz,  Toul,  and  Verdun  in  Lorraine,  which  places  she  had  held 
for  about  a  century,  was  confirmed,  and  all  Alsace,  save  the  free 
city  of  Strasburg,  was  given  to  her. 

Sweden,  already  a  great  maritime  power,  was  given  territories 
in  North  Germany — Western  Pomerania  and  other  lands — which 
greatly  enhanced  her  influence  by  giving  her  command  of  the 


446  THE  THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR  [§  644 

mouths  of  three  important  German  rivers, —  the  Oder,  the  Elbe, 
and  the  Weser.  But  these  lands  were  not  given  to  the  Swedish 
king  in  full  sovereignty;  they  still  remained  a  part  of  the  Ger- 
manic body,  and  the  king  of  Sweden  through  his  relation  to 
them  became  a  prince  of  the  Empire  and  entitled  to  a  seat  in 
the  German  Diet. 

The  changes  within  the  Empire  were  many,  and  some  of  them 
important.  Brandenburg,  the  nucleus  of  a  future  great  state, 
especially  received  considerable  additions  of  territory.  She  got 
Eastern  Pomerania  and  also  valuable  ecclesiastical  lands. 

The  different  states  of  the  Empire — they  numbered  over  four 
hundred,  counting  the  free  imperial  cities — were  left  virtually 
independent  of  the  imperial  authority.  This  continued  the  Em- 
pire as  merely  a  loose  confederation,  and  postponed  to  a  distant 
future  the  unification  of  the  German  peoples. 

The  articles  respecting  religion  were  even  more  important  than 
those  which  established  the  metes  and  bounds  of  the  different 
states.  Catholics,  Lutherans,  and  Calvinists  were  all  put  upon  the 
same  footing.  Every  prince,  with  some  reservations,  was  to  have 
the  right  to  make  his  religion  the  religion  of  his  people  and  to 
banish  all  who  refused  to  adopt  the  established  creed;  but  such 
nonconformists  were  to  have  five  years  in  which  to  emigrate.  This 
arrangement  was  known  as  the  princes'  "Right  of  Reformation" 
and  the  subjects'  "  Right  of  Emigration." ' 

These  were  some  of  the  most  important  provisions  of  the  noted 
Peace  of  Westphalia.  For  more  than  two  centuries  they  formed 
the  fundamental  law  of  Germany,  and  established  a  balance  of 
power  between  the  European  states  which,  though  it  was  disre- 
garded and  disturbed  by  Louis  XIV  of  France,  was  in  general 
maintained  until  the  great  upheaval  of  the  French  Revolution. 

644.  Effects  of  the  War  upon  Germany.  It  is  impossible  to 
picture  the  wretched  condition  in  which  the  Thirty  Years'  War  left 
Germany.  When  the  struggle  began,  the  population  of  the  country 

1  The  history  of  the  Palatinate  illustrates  the  workings  of  this  provision  of  the 
peace  :  in  the  space  of  sixty  years  the  people  of  that  principality  were  compelled  by  their 
successive  rulers  to  change  their  religion  four  times.    But  this  was  an  exceptional  case. 


EUROPE 

nficr  tLe 

PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA 

1648 

Bnuudary  uF  Kniplre,  tlius 
0     60    lOU  20U         300  400 


Scale  urHIIei. 


Lonnilu.lc        WiBt       0 


§  645]  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR  447 

was  thirty  millions;  when  it  ended,  twelve  millions.  Two  thirds 
of  the  personal  property  had  been  destroyed.  Many  of  the  once 
large  and  flourishing  cities  were  reduced  to  '^mere  shells."  The 
Duchy  of  Wiirtemberg,  which  had  half  a  million  inhabitants  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  at  its  close  had  barely  fifty  thou- 
sand. The  once  powerful  Hanseatic  League  was  virtually  broken 
up.  On  every  hand  were  the  charred  remains  of  the  hovels  of  the 
peasants  and  the  palaces  of  the  nobility.  Vast  districts  lay  waste 
without  an  inhabitant.  The  very  soil  in  many  regions  had  reverted 
to  its  primitive  wildness.  The  lines  of  commerce  were  broken, 
and  some  trades  and  industries  swept  quite  out  of  existence. 

The  effects  upon  the  fine  arts,  upon  science,  learning,  and  morals, 
were  even  more  lamentable.  Painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture 
had  perished.  The  cities  which  had  been  the  home  of  all  these 
arts  lay  in  ruins.  Poetry  had  ceased  to  be  cultivated.  Education 
was  neglected.  Moral  law  was  forgotten.  Vice,  nourished  by  the 
licentious  atmosphere  of  the  camp,  reigned  supreme.  Thus  civi- 
lization in  Germany,  which  had  begun  to  develop  with  so  much 
promise,  received  a  check  from  which  it  did  not  begin  to  recover, 
so  benumbed  were  the  very  senses  of  men,  for  a  generation  and 
more. 

There  was  at  least  one  offset  to  so  much  evil.  The  excesses  and 
horrors  of  the  war  inspired  the  eminent  Dutch  jurist,  Hugo 
Grotius  ( 1 583-1 645),  to  write  his  great  work,  The  Laws  of  War 
and  Peace,  a  work  that  has  been  pronounced  by  high  authority 
"the  most  beneficent  of  all  volumes  ever  written  not  claiming  divine 
inspiration."  A  chief  aim  of  the  work  was  to  reform  the  laws 
of  war,  to  lessen  the  atrocities  of  warfare,  and  to  set  limits  to  the 
"rights"  claimed  by  the  victor.  The  work  has  had  such  a  pro- 
found influence  upon  the  development  of  the  law  of  nations  that 
Grotius  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  international  law. 

645.  Conclusion.  The  Peace  of  Westphalia  is  a  prominent 
landmark  in  universal  history.  It  marks  the  end  of  the  Reforma- 
tion period  and  the  beginning  of  that  of  the  Political  Revolution. 
Henceforth,  speaking  broadly,  men  will  fight  for  constitutions, 
not   for  creeds.    We  shall   fmd   them   more   intent   on   questions 


448  THE  THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR  [UA5 

of  civil  government  and  political  rights  than  on  questions  of 
Church  government  and  religious  dogmas.  We  shall  not  often  see 
one  nation  attacking  another,  or  one  party  in  a  nation  assaulting 
another  party,  on  account  of  a  difference  in  religious  opinion. 

But  in  setting  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  to  mark  the  end  of  the 
Era  of  Religious  Wars,  we  do  not  mean  to  convey  the  idea  that 
men  had  come  to  embrace  the  beneficent  doctrine  of  religious 
toleration.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  real  toleration  had  yet  been 
reached, — nothing  save  the  semblance  of  toleration.  The  long 
conflict  of  a  century  and  more,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune, 
which  today  gave  one  party  the  power  of  the  persecutor  and 
tomorrow  made  the  same  sect  the  victims  of  persecution,  had 
simply  forced  all  to  the  practical  conclusion  that  they  must  toler- 
ate one  another, —  that  one  sect  must  not  attempt  to  put  another 
down  by  force.  But  it  has  required  the  broadening  and  liberaliz- 
ing lessons  of  the  two  centuries  and  more  that  have  since  passed 
to  bring  men  to  see,  even  in  part,  that  the  thing  they  must  do 
is  the  very  thing  they  ought  to  do. 

With  this  single  word  of  caution  we  now  pass  to  the  study  of 
the  Era  of  the  Political  Revolution,  a  period  characterized  in 
particular  by  the  growth  of  divine-right  kingship  and  by  the  great 
Struggle  between  despotic  and  liberal  principles  of  government. 

References.  filNOEl.Y,  A.,  Histoiy  of  the  Thirty  Years''  War,  2  vols,  (the 
best  history  for  Enghsh  readers ;  chaps,  x  and  xi  of  vol.  ii,  bearing  upon  the 
peace  negotiations,  are  of  special  interest).  Fletcher,  C.  R.  I..,  Gusta'.iis 
Adolphtts  and  the  St7-iig}:;le  of  Protestantism  for  I-lxhtence.  Gardiner,  S.  R..  The 
Thirty  Years'  IVar.  Henderson,  E.  F.,  A  Short  //istoiy  of  Germany,  vol.  i, 
chaps,  xvii  and  xviii.  Brvce,  J.,  The  Holy  Roman  Empire,  chaps,  xviii  and  xix. 
Fisher,  ().  P.,  History  of  the  Reformation,  chap,  xv  (summarizes  from  the 
Protestant  side  the  results  of  the  Reformation) ;  Hai.mes,  J.,  European  Ci''ili- 
zatioti  ;  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  comparrd;  and  Sl'Al'l.DlNO,  M.  J.,  The 
History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  I'arts  I  and  II  (contain  discussions  of  the 
subject  from  the  Catholic  point  of  view). 


FOURTH  PERIOD.     THE  ERA  OF  THE 
POLITICAL  REVOLUTION 

(From  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  (1648)  to  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  (1919)) 

/.  THE  APE  OF  ABSOLUTE  MONARCHY 

(1648-1789) 

CHAPTER  LX 

INTRODUCTORY :  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  DIVINE  RIGHT  OF 
KINGS  AND  THE  MAXIMS  OF  THE  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOTS 

646.  The  Theory  of  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings.  Throughout 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  there  was  widely  held  a 
theory  of  government  which  during  that  period  probably  had  as 
great  an  influence  upon  the  historical  development  in  Europe  as 
the  theory  of  the  Empire  and  the  Papacy  exerted  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  This  theory  is  known  as  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings. 

According  to  this  theory  the  nation  is  a  great  family  with  the 
king  as  its  divinely  appointed  head.  The  duty  of  the  king  is  to 
govern  like  a  father;  the  duty  of  the  people  is  to  obey  their 
king  even  as  children  obey  their  parents.  If  the  king  does  wrong, 
is  cruel,  unjust,  this  is  simply  the  misfortune  of  his  people;  under 
no  circumstances  is  it  right  for  them  to  rebel  against  his  authority, 
any  more  than  for  children  to  rise  against  their  father.  The  king 
is  responsible  to  God  alone,  and  to  God  the  people,  quietly  sub- 
missive, must  leave  the  avenging  of  all  their  wrongs.^ 

^' Kings  are  the  ministers  of  God" — it  is  the  eloquent  Bos- 
suet,    the    court    chaplain    of    Louis    XI\^    who    speaks — "and 

1  All  that  the  people  can  do  when  the  king  misuses  his  authority  is  to  petition  him 
"to  amend  his  fault"  — and  "to  pray  to  flod."' 

449 


450  THE  DIVINE  RIGHT  OF  KL\GS  [§  647 

his  vicegerents  on  the  earth."  "The  throne  of  a  king  is  not  the 
throne  of  a  man,  but  the  throne  of  God  himself.  .  .  .  The  per- 
son of  kings  is  sacred,  and  it  is  sacrilege  to  harm  them."  "They 
are  gods,  and  partake  in  some  fashion  of  the  divine  independ- 
ence." 

Before  the  close  of  the  period  upon  which  we  here  enter,  we 
shall  see  how  this  theory  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  worked  out 
in  practice, — how  dear  it  cost  both  kings  and  people,  and  how 
the  people  by  the  strong  logic  of  revolution  demonstrated  that 
they  have  a  divine  and  inalienable  right  to  govern  themselves. 

647.  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings. 
This  theory  that  kings  rule  by  divine  right  has  a  history  well 
worth  tracing.  Among  primitive  peoples,  like  the  early  Greeks, 
we  find  the  king  ruling  by  divine  right, —  by  right  of  his  descent 
from  the  gods.  In  Egypt  the  Pharaoh  was  regarded  as  partaking 
of  the  divine  nature.  In  ancient  Judea  the  king  was  the  Lord's 
anointed,  and  ruled  as  his  vicegerent  on  earth.  In  the  days  of  the 
Roman  emperors  their  subjects,  especially  in  the  East,  were  prone 
to  regard  the  head  of  the  Empire  as  set  apart  from  ordinary 
men.   They  built  temples  in  honor  of  "  the  divine  Caesar." 

But  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  doctrine  as  applied  to  kings  of 
modern  times,  we  need  not  go  farther  back  than  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  mediaeval  Papacy.  The  popes,  as  we  have  learned, 
ruled  by  what  may  be  termed  divine  right.  All  acknowledged 
their  office  and  authority  to  be  of  divine  origin  and  appointment. 
But  when  the  emperors  of  German  origin  got  into  controversy 
with  the  popes  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  imperial  to  the 
papal  power,  then  it  was  that  the  supporters  of  the  emperors 
framed  the  counter  theory  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  imperial 
authority.  Thus  Dante  in  his  Dc  Mouarchia  maintains  that  the 
Emperor  rules  as  much  l)y  divine  right  as  does  the  Pope.  Then 
later  in  the  fourteenth  century,  after  the  Empire  had  been 
practically  destroyed  by  the  Papacy  and  the  kings  had  taken  up 
the  fight  against  the  Papal  See,  their  supporters  naturally  began 
to  preach  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  nature  of  the  royal  authority. 
This  was  the  starting  point  of  the  theory  in  its  modern  form. 


§  648]  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SOVEREIGNS  45^ 

When  finally  the  Reformation  came  and  with  it  even  still 
keener  strife  between  the  lay  rulers  of  the  revolted  nations  and 
the  Roman  See,  then  the  theory  of  the  divine  nature  of  the  royal 
power  received  perforce  a  great  expansion.  For  when  the  Pope 
excommunicated  a  heretic  king  and  exhorted  his  subjects  to  take 
up  arms  against  him,  then  the  royalist  writers  and  preachers  pro- 
claimed more  loudly  than  ever  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of 
princes  and  the  wickedness  of  disobedience  and  rebellion.  Fostered 
in  this  way,  the  doctrine  of  the  sacred  character  of  kingship  and 
the  virtue  of  passive  obedience  in  the  subject  struck  deep  and 
firm  root. 

648.  Character  of  the  Absolute  Sovereigns  and  their 
Relation  to  the  Political  Revolution.  What  use  did  the  kings 
make  of  their  vast  and  unlimited  authority  ?  As  a  class,  they  made 
a  betrayal  of  the  great  trust.  Too  many  of  them  acted  upon  the 
maxim  of  Louis  XIV  of  France, — "Self-aggrandizement  is  at  once 
the  noblest  and  the  most  agreeable  occupation  of  kings."  They 
seemed  to  think  that  their  subjects  were  made  for  their  use  and 
that  their  kingdoms  were  their  personal  property.  War  became  a 
royal  pastime.  A  great  part  of  the  bloody  wars  of  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  which  centuries  may  be  regarded  as 
covering  roughly  the  age  of  absolute  monarchy,  were  wars  that 
originated  in  frivolous  personal  jealousies,  in  wicked  royal  ambi- 
tions, or  in  disputes  respecting  dynastic  succession.  So  generally 
did  the  wars  of  this  period  spring  from  questions  of  the  latter 
nature,  that  by  some  historians  the  age  is  called  the  Era  of  Dynas- 
tic Wars. 

Now  all  this  misuse  of  royal  power,  all  these  unholy  wars  with 
their  trains  of  attendant  evils,  did  much  to  discredit  divine-right 
kingship  and  to  bring  in  government  by  the  people.  "  Bad  kings 
help  us,"  Emerson  affirms,  "if  only  they  are  bad  enough."  Many 
of  the  kings  of  this  period  were  bad  enough  to  be  supremely 
helpful.  It  was  during  this  age  of  the  kings  that  the  forces 
set  loose  by  the  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation  engendered 
the  tempest  which  overwhelmed  forever  divine-right  kingship  and 
its  gilded  appendage  of  privileged  aristocracy. 


452  THE  DIVINE  RIGHT  OF  KLNGS  [§  649 

649.  The  Enlightened  Despots.  But  not  all  the  kings  of  this 
age  were  imbecile  or  wicked.  There  were  among  them  many  wise 
and  benevolent  rulers.  Especially  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  did  there  appear  monarchs  known  as  the 
Enlightened  Despots,  who,  under  the  influence  of  the  teachings 
of  French  philosophy,  came  to  entertain  reasonable  views  of 
their  duties  and  of  their  obligations  to  their  subjects. 

These  sovereigns  did  not  give  up  the  idea  that  unlimited  mon- 
archy is  the  best  form  of  government  and  that  the  people  should 
have  no  part  in  public  affairs.  They  sincerely  believed  that  the 
power  of  the  king  should  be  unlimited,  but  they  emphasized  the 
doctrine  that  this  power  should  be  exercised  solely  in  the  interest 
of  the  people.  Thus  the  idea  of  the  royal  power  being  a  trust,  the 
royal  office  a  stewardship,  was  made  prominent.  The  king  became 
the  servant  of  his  people. 

Prominent  among  the  sovereigns  deemed  worthy  a  place  among 
the  Enlightened  Despots  are  Catherine  the  Great  of  Russia  and 
Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia.  Concerning  them  and  their  work 
we  shall  have  something  to  say  in  later  chapters.  It  will  suffice 
here  if  we  simply  observe  that  the  issue  of  this  great  experi- 
ment in  government  illustrated  anew  what  had  been  demon- 
strated by  the  rule  of  the  Tyrants  in  the  cities  of  ancient  Greece, 
and  by  that  of  the  Csesars  at  Rome,— namely,  that  absolute  power 
cannot  safely  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  a  single  person.  It  is 
certain  sooner  or  later  to  be  misused. 

As  it  has  been  well  put,  absolute  power  in  a  single  person  is  a 
good  thing  when  joined  with  perfect  wisdom  and  perfect  good- 
ness. But  unfortunately  these  qualifications  of  the  ideal  autocrat 
are  seldom  found  united  in  the  same  individual,  and  still  less 
seldom  are  they  transmitted  from  father  to  son.  It  is  at  just  this 
point  that  absolute  hereditary  monarchy,  as  a  practical  form  of 
government,  breaks  down  beyond  hope  and  without  remedy. 

References.  Figgis,  J.  N.,  The  Theory  of  the  Dhitte  Rii^ht  of  A'hit^s.  An 
able  ;infl  interesting  discussion  of  the  subject.  The  book  has  a  good  bibli- 
ography. Gairdnkr,  J.,  and  Strdding,  J..  Studies  in  Etif^lish  History:  con- 
tains a  valuable  essay  entitled,  "The  Divine  Right  of  Kings." 


CHAPTER  LXI 
THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV 

(1643-1715) 

650.  Louis  XIV  as  the  Typical  Divine-Right  King.  Louis 
XIV  of  France  stands  as  the  representative  of  divine-right  mon- 
archy. He  shall  himself  expound  to  us  his  conception  of  govern- 
ment.^ These  are  his  words  :  "Kings  are  absolute  lords  ;  to  them 
belongs  naturally  the  full  and  free  disposal  of  all  the  property  of 
their  subjects,  whether  they  be  churchmen  or  laymen."  "  For  sub- 
jects to  rise  against  their  prince,  however  wicked  and  oppressive  he 
may  be,  is  always  infinitely  criminal.  God,  who  has  given  kings 
to  men,  has  willed  that  they  should  be  revered  as  his  lieutenants, 
and  has  reserved  to  himself  alone  the  right  to  review  their 
conduct.  His  will  is  that  he  who  is  born  a  subject  should  obey 
without  question." 

The  doctrine  here  set  forth  Louis  is  said  to  have  expressed  in 
this  terser  form:  LEtat,  c'est  moi  (I  am  the  State).  He  may 
never  have  uttered  these  exact  words,  but  the  famous  epigram  at 
least  embodies  perfectly  his  ideas  of  kingship.  In  his  own  view 
he  was  by  divine  commission  the  sole  legislator,  judge,  and  execu- 
tive of  the  French  nation. 

This  theory  of  government  was  indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  no 
novel  doctrine  to  the  Europe  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  but 
Louis  was  such  an  ideal  autocrat  that  somehow  he  made  autocratic 
government  attractive.  Other  rulers  imitated  him,  and  it  became 
the  prevaihng  theory  that  kings  have  a  "divine  right"  to  rule,  and 
that  the  people  should  have  no  part  at  all  in  government. 

1  It  should  be  noted  that  Louis'  subjects,  at  least  the  great  majority  of  them,  also 
believed  in  government  by  one,  —  and  not  without  reason.  They  had  had  sorry  experi- 
ence with  government  by  many,  under  the  regime  of  the  nobles.  Of  government  by  all, 
by  themselves,  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to  have  any  clear  conception,  if  any  conception 
at  all.  It  needed  a  hundred  years  and  more  of  autocratic  misrule  and  oppression  to  call 
into  existence  that  revolutionary  idea. 

453 


454 


FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV 


[§  651 


651.  The  Administration  of  Mazarin  (i643-i66i).  The  reli- 
gious war  in  Germany  was  still  in  progress  when,  in  1643, 
Louis  XIII  died,  leaving  the  vast  authority  which  his  great  min- 
ister Cardinal  Richelieu  had  done  so  much  to  consolidate,  as  an 
inheritance  to  his  little  son  Louis,  a  child  of  five  years. 

During  the  prince's  minor- 
ity the  government  was  in  the 
hands  of  his  mother,  Anne  of 
Austria,  as  regent.  She  chose 
as  her  chief  minister  an  Italian 
ecclesiastic.  Cardinal  Mazarin, 
who  in  his  administration  of 
affairs  followed  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  predecessor,  Riche- 
lieu, carrying  out  with  great 
ability  the  policy  of  that  min- 
ister (sect.  637).  Before  his 
death  the  House  of  Austria  in 
both  its  branches  had  been 
humiliated  and  crippled,  and 
the  House  of  Bourbon  was 
ready  to  assume  the  lead  in 
European  affairs. 

652.  Louis  XIV  becomes 
his  Own  Prime  Minister. 
]\Iazarin  died  in  1661.  Upon 
this  event  Louis,  now  twenty-three  years  of  age,  calling  together 
the  heads  of  the  various  departments  of  the  government,  said  to 
them  that  in  the  future  he  should  himself  attend  to  affairs.  He 
then  charged  the  secretaries  not  to  sign  any  paper,  not  even  a 
passport,  without  his  express  commands. 

From  this  time  on  for  more  than  half  a  century  Louis  was  his 
own  prime  minister.  He  gave  personal  attention  to  every  matter, 
even  the  most  trivial.  Probably  no  wearer  of  a  crown,  Philip  II 
of  Spain  possibly  excepted,  ever  worked  harder  at  "the  trade  of 
a  king,"  as  he  himself  designated  his  employment.    He  had  able 


Fk;.  121.    Loris  Xl\'.   (Aller  a  paint- 
ing by  Philippe  tie  Champagne) 


§653]  THE  WARS  OF  LOUIS  XIV  455 

men  about  him,  but  they  planned  and  worked — and  sometimes 
chafed — under  his  minute  directions  and  tireless  superintendence. 

653.  The  Wars  of  Louis  XIV.  During  the  period  of  his  per- 
sonal administration  of  the  government,  Louis  XIV  was  engaged 
in  four  great  wars:  (i)  a  war  respecting  the  Spanish  Netherlands; 
(2)  a  war  with  the  Protestant  Netherlands;  (3)  the  War  of  the 
Palatinate,  or  of  the  League  of  Augsburg;  and  (4)  the  War  of 
the  Spanish  Succession.  All  these  wars  were,  on  the  part  of  the 
French  monarch,  wars  of  conquest  and  aggression,  or  wars  pro- 
voked by  his  ambitious  and  encroaching  policy.  The  most  in- 
veterate enemy  of  Louis  during  all  this  period  was  the  Dutch 
Republic,  the  representative  and  champion  of  liberty. 

654.  The  War  concerning  the  Spanish  Netherlands  (i667- 
1668).  Upon  the  death  in  1665  of  Philip  IV  of  Spain,  Louis 
laid  claim,  in  the  name  of  his  wife,  to  portions  of  the  Spanish 
Netherlands  and  led  an  army  into  the  country.  The  Hollanders 
were  naturally  alarmed,  fearing  that  Louis  would  also  want  to 
annex  their  country  to  his  dominions.  Accordingly  they  effected 
what  was  called  the  Triple  Alliance  with  England  and  Sweden. 
Louis  was  now  quickly  checked  in  his  career  of  conquest,  and 
compelled  to  give  up  much  of  the  territory  he  had  seized. 

655.  The  War  with  the  Protestant  Netherlands  (i672-i678). 
The  second  war  of  the  French  king  was  against  the  United 
Netherlands.  His  attack  upon  this  little  state  was  prompted  by 
a  variety  of  motives.  In  the  first  place,  the  Hollanders'  interven- 
tion in  the  preceding  war  had  stirred  his  resentment.  Then  these 
Dutchmen  represented  everything  to  which  he  was  opposed, — 
self-government,  Protestantism,  and  free  thought. 

In  this  war  Louis  found  himself  confronted  by  the  armies  of 
half  of  Europe.  For  several  years  the  struggle  was  waged  on  land 
and  sea, —  in  the  Netherlands,  all  along  the  Rhine,  upon  the  Eng- 
lish Channel,  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  on  the  coasts  of  the  New 
World.  By  the  terms  of  the  peace  which  eventually  ended  the 
war,  Louis  gave  up  his  conquests  in  Holland,  but  kept  a  large 
number  of  towns  and  fortresses  in  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  be- 
sides the  free  county  of  Burgundy  on  his  eastern  frontier.    Thus 


456  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV  [§  656 

Louis  came  out  of  this  tremendous  struggle  with  enhanced  repu- 
tation and  fresh  acquisitions  of  territory.  People  now  began  to 
call  him  the  "Grand  Monarch." 

656.  Louis  seizes  the  City  of  Strasburg  (lesi).  Ten  years 
of  comparative  peace  now  followed  for  western  Europe.  Among 
the  many  indefensible  acts  of  Louis  during  this  period  there 
were  two  which  deserve  special  notice,  since,  while  marking  the 
culmination  of  Louis'  power  and  illustrating  his  arrogant  and 
unjust  use  of  that  power,  they  also  mark,  the  turning  point  in  his 
fortunes.  The  first  of  these  was  the  seizure  of  the  free  city  of 
Strasburg  and  a  score  of  other  important  places  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rhine,  belonging  to  the  Empire.  Strasburg  was  of  supreme 
military  importance  to  Louis  on  account  of  her  strong  forti- 
fications, which  rendered  her  mistress  of  the  Rhine. 

657.  The  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (i685).  The 
second  act  to  which  we  refer  was  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes,  the  gracious  decree  by  which  Henry  IV  guaranteed 
religious  freedom  to  the  French  Protestants  (sect.  633).  By  this 
cruel  measure  all  the  Protestant  churches  were  closed,  and  every 
Huguenot  who  refused  to  embrace  the  Catholic  faith  was  out- 
lawed. The  persecution  which  the  Huguenots  had  been  enduring, 
and  which  was  now  greatly  increased  in  violence,  is  known  as  the 
Dragonnades,  from  the  circumstance  that  dragoons  were  quar- 
tered upon  the  Protestant  families,  with  full  permission  to  annoy 
and  persecute  them  in  every  way  "short  of  violation  and  death," 
to  the  end  that  the  victims  of  these  outrages  might  be  constrained 
to  recant,  which  multitudes  did. 

Under  the  fierce  persecutions  of  the  Dragonnades  probably  as 
many  as  three  hundred  thousand  of  the  most  skillful  and  indus- 
trious of  the  subjects  of  Louis  were  driven  out  of  the  kingdom. 
The  effects  upon  France  of  this  exodus  were  most  disastrous. 
Several  of  the  most  important  and  flourishing  of  the  French  in- 
dustries were  ruined,  while  the  manufacturing  interests  of  other 
countries,  particularly  those  of  the  Protestant  Netherlands,  Eng- 
land, and  Brandenburg,  were  correspondingly  benefited  by  the 
energy,  skill,  and  capital  which  the  exiles  carried  to  them.    Many 


§658]  THE  WAR  OF  THE  PALATINATE  457 

of  the  fugitive  Huguenots  sought  refuge  in  America ;  and  no  other 
class  of  emigrants,  save  the  Puritans  of  England,  cast 

Such  healthful  leaven  'mid  the  elements 
That  peopled  the  new  world.  ^ 

658.  The  War  of  the  Palatinate,  or  of  the  League  of  Augs- 
burg (1688-1697).  The  indirect  results  of  the  revocation  of  'the 
Edict  of  Nantes  were  quite  as  calamitous  to  France  as  were  the 
direct  results.  The  indignation  that  the  measure  awakened  among 
the  Protestant  nations  contributed  to  enable  William  HI  of  the 
United  Netherlands  to  organize  a  formidable  confederacy  against 
Louis,  known  as  the  League  of  Augsburg. 

Louis  resolved  to  attack  the  confederates.  Seeking  a  pretext  for 
beginning  hostilities,  he  laid  claim  to  properties  in  the  Palatinate, 
and  hurried  a  large  army  into  the  country,  which  was  quickly 
overrun.  But  being  unable  to  hold  the  conquests  he  had  made, 
Louis  ordered  that  the  country  be  laid  waste.  Among  the  places 
reduced  to  ruins  were  the  historic  towns  of  Heidelberg,  Spires, 
and  Worms.    Even  fruit  trees,  vines,  and  crops  were  destroyed. 

Another  and  more  formidable  coalition,  known  as  the  Grand 
Alliance,  was  now  formed  against  Louis.  It  embraced  England. 
Holland,  Sweden,  Spain,  Savoy,  the  Emperor,  and  several  of  the 
German  princes.  For  ten  years  Europe  was  a  great  battlefield. 
It  was  very  much  such  a  struggle  as  that  waged  a  century  later 
by  the  allied  monarchies  of  Europe  against  Napoleon,  when  they 
fought  for  the  independence  of  the  continent. 

Both  sides  at  length  becoming  weary  of  the  contest  and  almost 
exhausted  in  resources,  the  struggle  was  closed  by  the  Peace  of 
Ryswick  (1697).  There  was  a  mutual  surrender  of  conquests 
made  during  the  war,  and  Louis  had  also  to  give  up  many  of  the 
places  he  had  seized  before  the  beginning  of  the  conflict. 

659.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  (1701-1714).  Barely 
three  years  had  passed  after  the  Peace  of  Ryswick  before  the 
great  powers  of  Europe  were  involved  in  another  war,  known 
as  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession. 

1  See  Baird,  History  of  the  Huguenot  Einigratioi}  to  America. 


458  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV  [i5  660 

The  proximate  circumstances  out  of  which  this  war  grew  were 
these.  In  1700  the  king  of  Spain,  Charles  II,  the  last  male 
descendant  in  Spain  of  the  great  Emperor  Charles  V,  died,  leaving 
his  crown— Charles  was  childless — to  Philip,  Duke  of  Anjou,  a 
grandson  of  Louis  XIV.  The  duke,  a  mere  lad  of  seventeen  years, 
assumed  the  crown  with  the  title  of  Philip  V,  and  thus  became  the 
founder  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  Spain.  "There  are  no  longer 
any  Pyrenees,"  is  the  way  in  which  Louis  is  reported  to  have  ex- 
pressed his  exultation  over  this  virtual  union  of  France  and  Spain. 

The  common  danger  in  such  a  union  led  to  the  forming  of  a 
second  Grand  Alliance^  against  France,  a  main  object  of  which 
was  to  eject  Philip  from  the  Spanish  throne  and  to  seat  thereon 
an  Austrian  prince.  For  thirteen  years  all  Europe  was  shaken 
with  war.  The  struggle  was  ended  by  the  treaties  of  Utrecht 
(1713)  and  Rastadt  (1714).  By  the  jirovisions  of  these  treaties 
the  Bourbon  prince  Philip  was  left  upon  the  Spanish  throne,  but 
on  the  condition  that  there  should  never  be  a  union  of  the  French 
and  Spanish  crowns  upon  the  same  head.  His  dominions  also 
were  pared  away  on  every  side.  Gibraltar  and  the  island  of 
Minorca  were  ceded  to  England ;  Milan,  Naples,  the  island  of 
Sardinia,  and  the  Catholic  Netherlands  were  given  to  Austria ; 
and  Sicily  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  Spain  was  thus  shorn  of  nearly 
half  her  territories  in  Europe. 

France  also  suffered  in  her  colonial  possessions  and  claims, 
being  forced  to  cede  Nova  Scotia  (Acadia)  to  England  and  to 
admit  her  sovereignty  over  Newfoundland  and  the  Hudson  Bay 
Territory. 

660.  Death  of  the  King  (1715).  It  was  amidst  troubles,  per- 
plexities, and  afflictions  that  Louis  XIV's  long  and  eventful  reign 
drew  to  a  close.  The  heavy  and  constant  taxes  necessary  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  his  numerous  wars  and  to  maintain  an  extravagant 
court,  and  to  furnish  means  for  the  erection  of  costly  buildings, 
had  bankrupted  the  country,  and  the  cries  of  his  wretched  sub- 
jects, clamoring  for  bread,  could  not  be  shut  out  of  the  royal 

'  The  alliance  embraced  at  first  KriKland,  the  rrotestant  Netherlands,  Austria,  and 
other  German  states,  and  later  was  joined  by  Portugal  and  Savoy. 


§661]  THE  COURT  OF  LOUIS  XIV  459 

chamber.  Death,  too,  had  invaded  the  palace,  striking  down  the 
Dauphin  and  also  two  grandsons  of  Louis,  leaving  as  the  nearest 
heir  to  the  throne  his  great-grandson,  a  mere  child.  On  the 
morning  of  September  i,  171 5,  the  Grand  Monarch  breathed  his 
last,  bequeathing  to  this  boy  of  five  years  a  kingdom  burdened 
with  debt  and  filled  with  misery  and  dangerous  discontent.  He 
seem.ed  at  the  last  moment  to  be  sensible  of  the  mistakes  and 
faults  of  his  reign,  for  his  dying  charge  to  the  little  prince  who 
was  to  succeed  him  was  as  follows :  "  Do  not  follow  the  bad  ex- 
ample which  I  have  set  you.  I  have  undertaken  war  too  lightly, 
and  have  continued  it  from  vanity.  Do  not  imitate  me,  but  be  a 
pacific  prince,  and  let  your  chief  occupation  be  to  relieve  your 
subjects." 

The  tidings  of  the  king's  death,  instead  of  being  received  by 
his  subjects  with  tears,  was  received  with  an  outburst  of  rejoicing. 
A  satirist  of  the  time  declared  that  "the  people  had  shed  too  many 
tears  during  his  life  to  have  any  left  for  his  death." 

661.  The  Court  of  Louis  XIV.  The  court  of  the  Grand  Mon- 
arch was  the  most  extravagantly  magnificent  that  Europe  has 
ever  seen.  Never  since  Nero  spread  his  Golden  House  over  the 
burnt  district  of  Rome  and  ensconcing  himself  amid  its  luxurious 
appointments  exclaimed,  "Now  I  am  housed  as  a  man  ought  to 
be,"  had  prince  or  king  so  ostentatiously  lavished  upon  himself  the 
wealth  of  an  empire.  Louis  had  half  a  dozen  palaces,  the  most 
costly  of  which  was  that  at  Versailles.  Here  he  created,  in  what 
was  originally  a  desert,  a  beautiful  miniature  universe  of  which  he 
was  the  center,  the  resplendent  sun — he  chose  the  sun  as  his 
emblem — around  which  all  revolved  and  from  which  all  received 
light  and  life.  And  here  were  gathered  the  beauty,  wit,  and 
learning  of  France.  The  royal  household  numbered  over  fifteen 
thousand  persons,  all  living  in  luxurious  idleness  at  the  expense  of 
the  people.  One  element  of  this  enormous  family  was  the  great 
lords  of  the  old  feudal  aristocracy.  Dispossessed  of  their  ancient 
power  and  wealth,  they  were  content  now  to  fill  a  place  in  the 
royal  household, —  to  be  the  king's  pensioners  and  the  elegant 
embellishment  of  his  court. 


46o  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV  [§  662 

As  can  easily  be  imagined,  the  court  life  of  this  period  was 
shamefully  corrupt.  Vice,  however,  was  gilded.  The  most  scanda- 
lous immoralities  were  made  attractive  by  the  glitter  of  superficial 
accomplishment  and  by  exquisite  suavity  and  polish  of  manner. 
But,  not  withstanding  its  insincerity  and  immorality,  the  brilliancy 
of  the  Court  of  Louis  dazzled  all  Europe.  Other  courts  imitated 
its  manners  and  emulated  its  extravagances.  In  all  matters  of 
taste  and  fashion  France  gave  laws  to  the  continent,  and  the 
French  language  became  the  court  language  of  the  civilized  world. 

662.  Literature  under  Louis  XIV.  Although  Louis  himself 
was  not  a  scholar,  he  gave  liberal  encouragement  to  men  of  letters, 
thereby  making  his  reign  the  Augustan  Age  of  French  literature. 
In  this  patronage  Louis  was  not  unselfish.  He  befriended  poets 
and  writers  of  every  class,  because  thus  he  extended  the  reputation 
of  his  court.  These  writers,  pensioners  of  his  bounty,  filled  all 
Europe  with  praises  of  the  great  king,  and  thus  made  the  most 
ample  and  grateful  return  to  Louis  for  his  favor  and  liberality. 

Almost  every  species  of  literature  was  cultivated  by  the  French 
writers  of  this  era,  yet  it  was  in  the  province  of  the  drama 
that  the  most  eminent  names  appeared.  The  three  great  names 
here  are  those  of  Corneille  (1606-1684),  Racine  (1639-1699), 
and  Moliere^  (1622-1673). 

1  Among  other  world-renowned  Trench  writers,  philosophers,  prelates,  and  orators 
who  adorned  the  age  of  Louis  XIV  were  Descartes  (i5(/)-i65o),  the  father  of  modern 
philosophy;  Pascal  (1623-1662),  the  prodigy  in  mathematics  and  the  author  of  the 
famous  Provincial  Letters;  La  Bruyfere  (1645-1696),  unrivaled  dcpicter  of  character  and 
manners;  Madame  de  Sevigne  (1626-1696),  the  brilliant  letter  writer,  whose  corre- 
spondence forms  today  a  prized  portion  of  French  literature  and  constitutes  a  treasury 
of  information  for  the  court  historian  ;  Hossuet  (1627-1704),  the  eloquent  court  preacher 
and  champion  of  divine-right  kingship;  Fenelon  (1651-1715),  the  distinguished  prelate 
and  author  of  T/ie  Adventures  of  Tclcmachits,  a  disguised  satire  on  the  reign  of  Louis 
XI V  ;  La  Rochefoucauld  (i6i3-i6cSo),  writer  of  memoirs  and  of  keenly  cynical  maxims  ; 
La  Fontaine  (i62i-i6()5),  greatest  of  modern  writers  of  fables;  I'crrault  (1628-1703), 
the  first  to  publish  such  nursery  talcs  as  ''Cinderella"  and  "  Bluebeard"  (some  believe 
that  Perrault  merely  edited  tales  written  down  by  a  little  boy  to  whom  they  were  told) ; 
Galland  (1646-1715),  the  first  to  publish  the  Arabuin  Xij^/its  in  a  European  language; 
Boileau  (1636-171 1),  satirist  and  critic.  Among  the  striking  literary  phenomena  of  the 
period  are  the  excessively  lengthy  romances,  of  whose  writers  Mademoiselle  de  Scudcry 
(1607-1701)  is  most  noted,  and  the  high  development  of  parlor  conversation.  Made- 
moiselle de  Scudery's  parlor  succeeding  the  still  more  famous  parlor  of  the  Marquise  de 
Kambouillet  (i 588-1665). 


§663]     DECLINE  OF  THE  FRENCH  MONARCHY        461 

663.  Relation  of  the  Reign  of  Louis  XIV  to  the  Revolution 
of  1789.  "If  it  be  asked,"  says  the  historian  Von  Hoist,  "who 
did  the  most  towards  the  destruction  of  the  ancient  regime,  the 
correct  answer  is,  beyond  all  question,  Louis  XIV,  its  greatest 
representative."  Louis  discredited  absolute  monarchy  by  his 
shameful  misuse  of  his  unlimited  power.  His  many  wars  and  his 
extravagant  expenditures  on  an  idle  and  profligate  court  weighed 
France  down  with  crushing  and  intolerable  burdens.  It  was  the 
vast  mass  of  misery  and  suffering  created  by  his  acting  on  the 
monstrous  doctrine  that  "the  many  are  made  for  the  use  of  one," 
that  did  much  to  prepare  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  French 
people  for  the  great  Revolution. 

664.  Decline  of  the  French  Monarchy  under  Louis  XV 
(1715-1774).  The  supremacy  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  passed 
away  forever  with  Louis  XIV.  In  passing  from  the  reign  of  the 
Grand  Monarch  to  that  of  his  successor,  we  pass  from  the  strong- 
est and  outwardly  most  brilliant  reign  in  French  history  to  the 
weakest  and  most  humiliating.  Louis  XV  was  a  despot  without 
possessing  any  of  the  possible  virtues  of  a  despot.  During  his 
reign  France  made  a  swift  descent  toward  the  abyss  of  the 
Revolution  of  1789.  She  took  part,  indeed,  but  usually  with 
injury  to  her  military  reputation,  in  all  the  wars  of  the  period. 
The  most  important  of  these  for  France  was  the  Seven  Years'  War 
( 1 756-1 763),  known  in  America  as  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
which  resulted  in  the  loss  to  France  of  Canada  in  the  New  World 
and  of  her  Indian  empire  in  the  Old. 

References.  For  a  comprehensive  view  of  this  period  there  is  nothing 
superior  to  The  Age  of  Louis  XI\\  2  vols.,  and  T/ie  Decline  of  the  Freuch  Mon- 
archy, 2  vols., — translations  by  Mary  L.  Booth  of  the  corresponding  parts  of 
Henri  Martin's  Hisioire  de  France.  Wakeman,  II.  O.,  Etirope,  i^gS-i-ji§, 
chaps,  vi,  vii,  and  ix-xv.  Kitchix.G.  \V., .-/ ///.>7()n'^/>-rt';/<-<',  vol.  iii.  IIassall, 
A.,  The  F7-ench  People,  chaps,  xii-xiv;  and  Louis  XL]'  and  the  Zenith  of  the 
French  ALonarchy-  Perkins,  J.  B.,  France  under  Mazarin,  vol.  ii ;  Fiance  under 
the  Regency;  and  France  under  Louis  XI',  2  vols.  Williams,  H.  N.,  Madame 
de  Pompadour.  For  the  history  of  the  French  in  .America  during  the  age  of 
Louis  XIV,  the  reader  will  have  recourse  to  Parkman,  F.,  Froitfenac  and  iVcii 
France  under  Louis  XLl'. 


CHAPTER  LXII 
THE  STUARTS  AND  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION 

(1603-1689) 

I.  THE  FIRST  TWO  STUARTS 
Reign  of  James  the  First  (1603-1625) 

665.  James'  Idea  of  Kingship.    With  the  end  of  the  Tudor 

line  (sect.  612),  James  VI  of  Scotland,  son  of  Mary  Stuart,  came 
to  the  English  throne  as  James  I  of  England.  The  accession  of 
the  House  of  Stuart  brought  England  and  Scotland  under  the 
same  sovereign,  though  each  country  still  retained  its  own 
legislature. 

James,  like  the  other  Stuarts  who  followed  him  on  the  English 
throne,  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of 
kings.  He  held  that  hereditary  princes  are  the  Lord's  anointed, 
and  that  their  authority  can  in  no  way  be  questioned  or  limited 
by  people,  priest,  or  Parliament.  These  are  his  own  words:  "It 
is  atheism  and  blasphemy  to  dispute  what  God  can  do:  good 
Christians  content  themselves  with  his  will  revealed  in  his 
word ;  so  it  is  presumption  and  high  contempt  in  a  subject  to 
dispute  what  a  king  can  do,  or  say  that  a  king  cannot  do  this 
or  that." 

666.  Contest  between  James  and  the  Commons;  "the 
Sovereign  King  and  the  Sovereign  People."  But  the  Com- 
mons of  the  English  Parliament,  and  probably  the  majority  of 
the  English  people,  differed  with  their  Stuart  kings  in  their 
views  concerning  the  nature  of  government,  and  particularly 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  English  government.  In  this  differ- 
ence of  views  lay  hidden,  as  we  shall  learn,  the  germs  of  the  Civil 
War  and  of  all  that  grew  out  of  it, —  the  Commonwealth,  the 
Protectorate,  and  the  Revolution  of  1688. 

462 


§  666]  JAMES  AND  THE  COMMONS  463 

An  incident  lights  up  vividly  the  situation.  A  committee  from 
the  Commons  was  about  to  wait  upon  the  king.  "Place  twelve 
armchairs,"  said  James  to  his  attendants;  "I  am  going  to  receive 
twelve  kings."  What  the  king  said  in  bitter  irony  was  the  simple 
truth.  James,  when  he  met  the  committee  from  the  Commons, 
met  men  who  were  as  sure  that  they  had  a  divine  right  to  rule 
England  as  he  was  that  he  had  a  divine  commission  to  that  same 
end.  As  the  historian  Guizot  tersely  expresses  it,  "  Both  king  and 
people  thought  as  sovereigns."  Here  were  the  conditions  of  an 
irrepressible  conflict. 

The  chief  matters  of  dispute  between  the  king  and  the  Com- 
mons were  the  limits  of  the  authority  of  the  former  in  matters 
touching  legislation  and  taxation,  and  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  privileges  and  jurisdiction  of  the  latter. 

As  to  the  limits  of  the  royal  power,  James  talked  and  acted  as 
though  his  prerogatives  were  practically  unbounded.  He  issued 
proclamations  which  in  their  scope  were  really  laws,  and  then 
enforced  these  royal  edicts  by  fines  and  imprisonment  as  though 
they  were  regular  statutes  of  Parliament.  Moreover,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  some  uncertainty  in  the  law  as  regards  the  power  of 
the  king  to  collect  customs  at  the  ports  of  the  realm,  he  laid  new 
and  unusual  duties  upon  imports  and  exports.  James'  judges  were 
servile  enough  to  sustain  him  in  this  course,  some  of  them  going 
so  far  as  to  say  in  effect  that  "the  seaports  are  the  king's  gates, 
which  he  may  open  and  shut  to  whom  he  pleases." 

As  to  the  privileges  of  the  Commons,  that  body  insisted,  among 
other  things,  upon  their  right  to  determine  all  cases  of  contested 
election  of  their  members,  and  to  debate  freely  all  questions  con- 
cerning the  common  weal,  without  being  liable  to  prosecution  or 
imprisonment  for  words  spoken  in  the  House.  James  denied  that 
these  privileges  were  matters  of  right  pertaining  to  the  Commons, 
and  repeatedly  intimated  to  them  that  it  was  only  through  his 
own  gracious  permission  and  the  favor  of  his  ancestors  that  they 
were  allowed  to  exercise  these  liberties  at  all,  and  that  if  their 
conduct  was  not  more  circumspect  and  reverential  he  should  take 
away  their  privileges  entirely. 


464  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§  667 

On  one  occasion,  the  Commons  having  ventured  in  debate  upon 
certain  matters  of  state  which  the  king  had  forbidden  them  to 
meddle  with,  he,  in  reproving  them,  made  a  more  express  denial 
than  ever  of  their  rights  and  privileges,  which  caused  them,  in  a 
burst  of  noble  indignation,  to  spread  upon  their  journal  a  brave 
protest,  known  as  "The  Great  Protestation,"  which  declared  that 
"the  liberties,  franchises,  privileges,  and  jurisdictions  of  Parlia- 
ment are  the  ancient  and  undoubted  birthright  and  inheritance  of 
the  subjects  of  England,  and  that  the  arduous  and  urgent  affairs 
concerning  the  king,  state,  and  defense  of  the  realm  and  the 
Church  of  England  .  .  .  are  proper  subjects  and  matter  of 
council  and  debate  in  Parliament"  (1621). 

When  intelligence  of  this  action  was  carried  to  the  king,  he 
angrily  adjourned  Parliament,  sent  for  the  journal  of  the  House, 
and  with  his  own  hand  struck  out  the  obnoxious  resolution. 
Then  he  dissolved  Parliament,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  imprison 
several  of  the  members  of  the  Commons.  In  these  high-handed 
measures  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Stuart  theory  of  government, 
and  see  the  way  paved  for  the  final  break  between  king  and 
people  in  the  following  reign. 

667.  Colonies  and  Trade  Settlements.  The  reign  of  James  I 
is  signalized  by  the  commencement  of  that  system  of  colonization 
which  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  English  race  in 
almost  every  cjuarter  of  the  globe.  In  the  year  1607  Jamestown, 
so  named  in  honor  of  the  king,  was  founded  in  Virginia.  This 
was  the  first  permanent  English  settlement  within  the  limits  of 
the  United  States.  In  1620  some  Separatists,  or  Pilgrims,  who 
had  found  in  Holland  a  temporary  refuge  from  persecution,  pushed 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  amidst  heroic  sufferings  and  unparalleled 
hardships  established  the  first  settlement  in  New  England  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  civil  liberty  in  the  New  World. 

Besides  planting  these  settlements  in  the  New  World,  the  Eng- 
lish during  this  same  reign  settled  themselves  in  the  ancient 
land  of  India.  In  16 13  the  East  India  Company  established  their 
first  "factory"  (trading  station)  at  Surat.  This  was  the  humble 
beginning  of  the  great  English  empire  in  the  East. 


§  668]  LITERATURE  UNDER  KING  JAMES  465 

In  this  connection  must  also  be  noticed  the  Plantation  of  Ulster 
in  Ireland.  The  northern  part  of  that  island  having  been  desolated 
by  a  stubborn  rebellion,  and  extensive  tracts  of  land  having 
been  forfeited  to  the  English  crown,  this  land  was  now  given 
by  royal  grant  to  English  and  Scotch  settlers.  Some  of  the 
Celtic  clans  were  removed  bodily  and  assigned  lands  in  other 
parts  of  the  island.  This  movement  began  in  16 10.  Its  aim  was 
to  Protestantize  and  Anglicize  the  country.  The  end  sought  was 
in  a  good  measure  attained.  In  less  than  a  century  after  the 
beginning  of  the  colonization  movement  there  were  over  a  million 
Protestants  of  the  Presbyterian  sect  settled  in  Ulster.  But  the  in- 
justice and  harshness  of  the  treatment  of  the  Irish  natives  awak- 
ened among  them  a  spirit  of  bitter  hostility  to  the  newcomers, 
which,  intensified  by  fresh  wrongs,  has  embittered  all  the  relations 
of  Ireland  and  England  up  to  our  own  day. 

668.  Literature.  One  of  the  most  noteworthy  literary  labors 
of  the  reign  under  review  was  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible, 
known  as  King  James'  Version,  published  in  161 1.  This  version  is 
the  one  in  general  use  in  the  Protestant  Church  at  the  present  day. 

The  most  noted  writers  of  James'  reign  were  a  bequest  to  it 
from  the  brilliant  era  of  Elizabeth.'  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  the 
petted  courtier  of  Elizabeth,  fell  on  evil  days  after  her  death. 
On  the  charge  of  taking  part  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  crown, 
he  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  where  he  was  kept  a  prisoner  for 
thirteen  years.  From  the  tedium  of  his  long  confinement  he  found 
relief  in  the  composition  of  a  History  of  the  World.  He  was  at 
last  beheaded  (1618). 

The  close  of  the  life  of  the  great  philosopher  Francis  Bacon 
was  scarcely  less  sad  than  that  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  He  held 
the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  and,  yielding  to  the  temptations  of 
the  corrupt  times  upon  which  he  had  fallen,  accepted  fees  from  the 
suitors  who  brought  cases  before  him.  He  was  impeached  and 
brought  to  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  where  he  confessed  his 

1  Shakespeare  died  about  the  middle  of  the  reign  (in  i6i6).  Several  of  his  com- 
panion dramatists,  who  like  himself  began  their  career  under  Elizabeth,  also  outlived 
the  queen,  and  did  most  of  their  work  during  the  reign  of  her  successor. 


466  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§  669 

fault,  but  asserted  that  the  money  he  took  never  influenced  his 
judgment.  He  appealed  pathetically  to  his  judges  'Ho  be  merciful 
to  a  broken  reed."  He  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  heavy  fine  and 
to  imprisonment  in  the  Tower.  But  the  king  in  pity  released  him 
from  all  the  penalty  and  even  conferred  a  pension  upon  him.  He 
lived  only  five  years  after  his  fall  and  disgrace,  dying  in  1626. 

Bacon  must  be  given  the  first  place  among  the  philosophers  of 
the  English-speaking  race.  His  system  is  known  as  the  '^  Inductive 
Method  of  Philosophy."  It  insists  upon  experiment  and  a  care- 
ful observation  of  facts  as  the  only  true  means  of  arriving  at  a 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature. 

Reign  of  Charles  the  First  (162 5-1 649) 

669.  The  Petition  of  Right  (lezs).  Charles  I  came  to  the 
throne  with  all  his  father's  lofty  notions  about  the  divine  right  of 
kings.  He  made  his  own  these  words  of  Scripture :  '^  Where  the 
word  of  a  king  is,  there  is  power:  and  who  may  say  unto  him, 
What  doest  thou?"^  Consequently  the  old  contest  between  king 
and  Parliament  was  straightway  renewed.  The  first  two  Parlia- 
ments of  his  reign  Charles  dissolved  abruptly,  because  instead  of 
voting  supplies  they  persisted  in  investigating  public  grievances. 

After  the  dissolution  of  his  second  Parliament,  Charles  endeav- 
ored to  raise  by  means  of  benevolences  (sect.  587)  and  forced 
loans  the  money  he  needed  to  carry  on  the  government.  But  all 
his  expedients  failed  to  meet  his  needs,  and  he  was  forced  to  fall 
back  upon  Parliament,  The  Houses  met,  and  promised  to  grant 
him  generous  subsidies,  provided  he  would  approve  a  certain 
Petition  of  Right  which  they  had  drawn  up.  Next  after  Magna 
Carta,  this  document  is  the  most  important  in  the  constitutional 
history  of  England.  Four  abuses  were  provided  against:  (i)  the 
raising  of  money  by  loans,  benevolences,  taxes,  etc.,  without  the 
consent  of  Parliament;  (2)  imprisonment  without  cause  shown; 
(3)  the  quartering  of  soldiers  in  private  houses, —  a  very  vexatious 
thing;  and  (4)  trial  by  martial  law,  that  is,  without  jury. 

>  Eccles.  viii.  4  ;  cited  by  Charles  on  his  trial  in  1649. 


§  670]    CHARLES  RULES  WITHOUT  PARLIAMENT       467 


Charles  was  as  reluctant  to  assent  to  the  petition  as  King 
John  had  been  to  assent  to  Magna  Carta,  but  he  was  at  length 
forced  to  give  sanction  to  it  by  the  use  of  the  usual  formula, 
"Let  it  be  law  as  desired"   (1628). 

670.  Charles  rules  without  Par- 
liament (i629-i64o).  It  soon  became 
evident  that  Charles  was  utterly- 
insincere  when  he  gave  his  assent 
to  the  Petition  of  Right.  He  im- 
mediately violated  its  provisions  in 
attempting  to  raise  money  by  for- 
bidden taxes  and  loans.  For  eleven 
years  he  ruled  without  Parliament, 
thus  changing  the  government  of 
England  from  a  government  by  king, 
Lords,  and  Commons  to  what  was  in 
effect  an  absolute  and  irresponsible 
monarchy,  like  that  of  France  or  of 
Spain. 

Prominent  among  Charles'  most 
active  agents  were  his  ministers, 
Thomas  Wentworth,  later  Earl  of 
Strafford,  and  William  Laud,  Bishop 
of  London  and  later  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  both  of  whom  earned  un- 
enviable reputations  through  their 
industry  and  success  in  building  up 
the  absolute  power  of  their  master 
upon   the  ruins  of  the  ancient   institutions  of   English   liberty. 

The  high-handed  proceedings  of  Charles  and  his  agents  were 
upheld  by  three  iniquitous  courts  of  usurped  jurisdiction.  These 
were  known  as  the  "Council  of  the  North."  the  "Star  Chamber," 
and  the  "High  Commission  Court."  All  these  courts  sat  without 
jury  and,  being  composed  of  the  creatures  of  the  king,  were  of 
course  his  subservient  instruments.  Often  their  decisions  were  un- 
just and  arbitrary,  their  punishments  harsh  and  cruel. 


Fk;.  122.   Ch.-\rles  I.  (After 
a  painting  by  l'a>idyke) 


468  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§  671 

671.  John  Hampden  and  Ship  Money  (i637-i638).  Amonp; 
the  illegal  taxes  levied  during  this  period  of  tyranny  was  a  species 
known  as  "ship  money,"  so  called  from  the  fact  that  in  early 
times  the  kings,  when  the  realm  was  in  danger,  called  upon  the 
seaports  and  maritime  counties  to  contribute  ships  and  ship 
material  for  the  public  service.  Charles  and  his  agents,  in  look- 
ing this  matter  over,  conceived  the  idea  of.  extending  this  tax 
over  the  inland  as  well  as  the  seaboard  counties. 

Among  those  who  refused  to  pay  the  tax  was  a  country  gentle- 
man named  John  Hampden.  The  case  was  tried  in  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  before  all  the  twelve  judges.  All  England  watched  the 
progress  of  the  suit  with  the  utmost  solicitude.  The  question  was 
argued  by  able  counsel  both  on  Hampden's  side  and  on  the  side  of 
the  crown.  Judgment  was  finally  rendered  in  favor  of  the  king,  al- 
though five  of  the  twelve  judges  stood  for  Hampden.  The  case 
was  lost;  but  the  people,  who  had  been  following  the  arguments, 
were  fully  persuaded  that  it  went  against  Hampden  simply  for  the 
reason  that  the  judges  stood  in  fear  of  the  royal  displeasure  should 
they  dare  to  decide  the  case  adversely  to  the  crown. 

The  arbitrary  and  despotic  character  which  the  government 
had  now  assumed  in  both  civil  and  religious  matters,  and  the 
hopelessness  of  relief  or  protection  from  the  courts,  caused  thou- 
sands to  seek  in  the  New  World  that  freedom  and  security  which 
was  denied  them  in  their  own  land. 

672.  The  Bishops'  War  (i639).  England  was  ready  to  rise 
in  open  revolt  against  the  unbearable  tyranny.  Events  in  Scot- 
land hastened  the  crisis.  The  king  was  attempting  to  impose  the 
English  liturgy  (slightly  modified)  upon  the  Scotch  Presbyterians. 
To  the  Scotch  this  seemed  little  short  of  a  restoration  of  the 
"Popery"  they  had  renounced.  All  classes,  nobles  and  peasants 
alike,  bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  National  Covenant — whence 
the  term  Covenanters — to  resist  to  the  very  last  every  attempt 
to  make  innovations  in  their  religion  (1638). 

The  king  resolved  to  crush  the  movement  by  force.  The 
Scotch  accepted  the  challenge  with  all  that  ardor  which  religious 
enthusiasm  never  fails  to  inspire.     Charles  soon  found  that  war 


§673] 


THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT 


469 


could  not  be  carried  on  without  money,  and  was  constrained  to 
summon  Parliament  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  vote  of  supplies. 
But  instead  of  making  the  king  a  grant  of  money,  the  Commons 
first  gave  their  attention  to  the  matter  of  grievances,  whereupon 
Charles  dissolved  the  Parliament.  The  Scottish  forces  crossed 
the  border,  and  the  king,  helpless,  with  an  empty  treasury  and 
a  seditious  army,  was  forced  again  to  summon  the  two  Houses. 


Fig.  123.   Execution  of  thi:  K  \ki,  m-  Straffokd.   (From  a 
contemporary  print) 

673.  The  Long  Parliament.  Under  this  call  met  on  Novem- 
ber 3,  1640,  the  Parliament  which,  from  the  circumstance  of  its 
sitting  for  twelve  years  and  legally  existing  for  nearly  twenty, 
became  known  as  the  "Long  Parliament."  A  small  majority  of 
the  members  of  the  Commons  of  this  Parliament  were  stern  and 
determined  men,  men  who  fully  realized  the  danger  in  which  the 
constitutional  rights  and  the  traditional  liberties  of  Englishmen 
were  set,  and  who  were  resolved  to  put  a  check  to  the  despotic 
course  of  the  king. 


470  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [55  674 

Almost  the  first  act  of  the  Commons  was  the  impeachment  of 
Strafford,  as  the  most  prominent  instrument  of  the  king's  tyranny 
and  usurpation.  He  was  finally  condemned  by  a  bill  of  attainder^ 
and  sent  to  the  block. 

To  secure  themselves  against  dissolution  before  their  work  was 
done,  the  Houses  passed  a  bill  which  provided  that  they  should 
not  be  adjourned  or  dissolved  without  their  own  consent. 

674.  Charles'  Attempt  to  seize  the  Five  Members.  An  im- 
prudent act  on  the  part  of  Charles  now  precipitated  the  nation 
into  the  gulf  of  civil  war,  toward  which  events  had  been  so 
rapidly  drifting.  With  the  design  of  overawing  the  Commons,  the 
king  made  a  charge  of  treason  against  five  of  the  leading  members, 
among  whom  were  Hampden  and  John  Pym,  and  sent  officers  to 
arrest  them ;  but  the  accused  were  not  to  be  found.  The  next 
day  Charles  himself,  accompanied  by  armed  attendants,  went  to 
the  House  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  the  five  members;  but, 
having  been  forewarned  of  the  king's  intention,  they  had  with- 
drawn from  the  hall.  The  king  was  not  long  in  realizing  the  state 
of  affairs,  and  with  the  observation,  "I  see  the  birds  have  flown," 
withdrew  from  the  chamber. 

Charles  had  taken  a  fatal  step.  The  nation  could  not  forgive 
the  insult  offered  to  its  representatives.  All  London  rose  in  arms. 
The  king,  frightened  by  the  storm  which  his  rashness  had  raised, 
fled  from  the  city  to  York.  From  the  flight  of  Charles  from  London 
may  be  dated  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war  (January  lo,  1642). 

The  Civil  War  (1642-1649) 

675.  The  Two  Parties.  The  country  was  now  divided  into 
two  great  parties.  Those  that  enlisted  under  the  king's  standard 
— on  whose  side  rallied,  for  the  most  part,  the  nobility,  the  gen- 
try, and  the  clergy  —  were  known  as  Royalists  or  Cavaliers; 
while  those  that  gathered  about  the  Parliamentary  banner  —  the 

'  A  bill  of  attainder  is  an  act  ordering  the  piinishmenf  of  a  certain  person,  passed  like 
an  ordinary  statute  of  Parliament.  .Because  of  the  misuse  by  the  English  Parliament  of 
this  power,  the  framcrs  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  ."-itates,  in  enumerating  the 
powers  of  Congress,  inserted  this  clause  :  "  No  bill  of  attainder  .  .  .  shall  be  passed." 


§676]  CROMWELL  AND  HIS  "IRONSIDES"  471 

townsmen  and  the  yeomanry — were  called  Parliamentarians  or 
Roundheads,  the  latter  term  being  applied  to  them  because  many 
of  their  number  cropped  their  hair  close  to  the  head,  simply  for 
the  reason  that  the  Cavaliers  affected  long  and  flowing  locks. 
The  Cavaliers  favored  the  Established  Episcopal  Church,  while  the 
Roundheads  were  Puritans.  During  the  progress  of  the  struggle 
the  Presbyterians  and  Independents  (later  known  as  Congrega- 
tionalists)  became  the  leading  factions  in  the  Puritan  party. 

676.  Oliver  Cromwell  and  his  "Ironsides."  The  war  had 
continued  about  three  years  when  there  came  into  prominence 
among  the  officers  of  the  Parliamentary  forces  a  man  of  destiny, 
one  of  the  great  characters  of  history, —  Oliver  Cromwell.  During 
the  early  campaigns  of  the  war,  as  colonel  of  a  troop  of  cavalry,  he 
had  exhibited  his  rare  genius  as  an  organizer  and  disciplinarian. 
His  regiment  became  famous  under  the  name  of  "Cromwell's  Iron- 
sides." It  was  composed  entirely  of  "men  of  religion."  Swearing, 
drinking,  and  the  usual  vices  of  the  camp  were  unknown  among 
them.  They  advanced  to  the  charge  with  the  singing  of  psalms. 
During  all  the  war  the  regiment  was  never  once  beaten. 

677.  The  Battle  of  Naseby  (1645).  The  decisive  engage- 
ment of  the  war  was  what  is  known  as  the  battle  of  Naseby.  The 
Royalists  were  irretrievably  beaten.  Charles  escaped  from  the 
field,  and  ultimately  fled  to  the  Scottish  army,  thinking  that  he 
might  rely  upon  the  loyalty  of  the  Scots  to  the  House  of  Stuart ; 
but  on  his  refusing  to  sign  the  Covenant  and  certain  other  articles, 
they  gave  him  up  to  the  English  Parliament. 

678.  "Pride's  Purge"  (i648).  Now  there  were  many  in  the 
Parliament  who  were  in  favor  of  restoring  the  king  to  his  throne 
on  the  basis  of  conditions  which  he  himself  had  proposed,  that  is 
to  say,  without  requiring  from  him  any  sufficient  guaranties  that 
he  would  in  the  future  rule  in  accordance  with  the  constitution 
and  the  laws  of  the  land.  The  Independents,  which  means  Crom- 
well and  the  army,  saw  in  this  possibility  the  loss  of  all  the  fruits 
of  victory.  A  high-handed  measure  was  resolved  upon, — the 
exclusion  from  the  House  of  Commons  of  all  those  members  who 
favored  the  restoration  of  Charles. 


472  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§679 

Accordingly  an  officer  by  the  name  of  Pride  was  stationed  at 
the  door  of  the  hall  to  exclude  or  to  arrest  the  members  obnoxious 
to  the  army.  One  hundred  and  forty-three  members  were  thus 
kept  from  their  seats,  and  the  Commons  became  reduced  to  about 
fifty  representatives.  This  performance  was  appropriately  called 
"Pride's  Purge."  "The  minority  had  now  become  the  majority." 
But  that  is  not  an  approved  way  of  creating  a  majority. 

679.  Trial  and  Execution  of  the  King  (January  30,  1649). 
The  Commons  thus  "purged"  of  the  king's  friends  now  passed  a 
resolution  for  the  immediate  trial  of  Charles  for  treason.  A  High 
Court  of  Justice,  comprising  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  members, 
was  organized,  before  which  Charles  was  summoned.  Appearing 
before  the  court,  he  denied  its  authority  to  try  him,  consistently 
maintaining  that  no  earthly  tribunal  could  rightly  question  his 
acts.  But  the  trial  went  on,  and  before  the  close  of  a  week  he  was 
condemned  to  be  executed  "as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer,  and 
public  enemy  to  the  good  people  of  this  nation." 

In  a  few  days  the  sentence  was  carried  out.  Charles  bore  him- 
self in  the  presence  of  death  with  great  composure  and  dignity. 
On  the  scaffold  he  spoke  these  words,  the  sincerity  of  which  can- 
not be  doubted:  "For  the  people  truly  I  desire  their  liberty  and 
freedom  as  much  as  anybody  whatsoever;  but  I  must  tell  you  that 
their  liberty  and  freedom  consists  in  having  government;  ...  it 
is  not  in  their  having  a  share  in  the  government;  that  is  nothing 
pertaining  to  them." 

II.  THE  COMMONWEALTH  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE 

(1649-1660) 

680.  Establishment  of  the  Commonwealth.  A  few  weeks 
after  the  execution  of  Charles  the  Commons  voted  to  abolish  the 
office  of  king  as  "unnecessary,  burdensome,  and  dangerous  to  the 
liberty,  safety,  and  public  interest  of  the  people,"  and  also  to  do 
away  with  the  House  of  Lords  as  likewise  "useless  and  dan- 
gerous to  the  people  of  England,"  and  to  establish  a  free  state 
under  the  name  of  "The  Commonwealth."    A  new  Great  Seal 


§  681]       TROUBLES  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH  473 

was  made  with  this  legend  and  date:  "In  the  first  year  of  free- 
dom, by  God's  blessing  restored,  1648,"^  The  executive  power 
was  lodged  in  a  Council  of  State,  composed  of  forty-one  per- 
sons. Of  this  body  the  eminent  patriot  Sir  Henry  Vane  was 
the  leading  member. 

68L  Troubles  of  the  Commonwealth,  The  republic  thus  born 
of  mingled  religious  and  political  enthusiasm  was  beset  with  dan- 
gers from  the  very  first.  The  execution  of  Charles  had  alarmed 
every  sovereign  in  Europe.  Russia,  France,  and  the  Dutch  Re- 
public all  refused  to  have  any  communication  with  the  ambas- 
sadors of  the  Commonwealth.  The  Scots,  who  too  late  repented 
of  having  surrendered  their  sovereign  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  now  hastened  to  wipe  out  the  stain  of  their  disloyalty  by 
proclaiming  his  son  their  king,  with  the  title  of  Charles  the 
Second.  The  Royalists  in  Ireland  declared  for  the  prince;  while 
the  Dutch  began  active  preparations  to  assist  him  in  regaining 
the  throne  of  his  unfortunate  father.  In  England  itself  the 
Royalists  were  active  and  threatening. 

682.  War  with  Ireland  ( 1649-1652 ).  The  Commonwealth, 
like  the  ancient  republic  of  Rome,  seemed  to  gather  strength 
and  energy  from  the  very  multitude  of  surrounding  dangers. 
Cromwell  was  made  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  and  sent  into 
that  country  to  crush  the  Royalist  party  there.  With  his  "Iron- 
sides" he  made  quick  and  terrible  work  of  the  suppression  of  the 
Catholic  Royalists.  Having  taken  by  storm  the  town  of  Drogheda, 
which  had  refused  his  summons  to  surrender,  he  massacred  the 
entire  garrison,  consisting  of  three  thousand  men  (1649).  The 
capture  of  other  towns  was  accompanied  by  massacres  little  less 
terrible.  The  following  is  his  own  account  of  the  manner  in  which 
he  dealt  with  the  captured  garrisons:  "When  they  submitted, 
their  officers  were  knocked  on  the  head,  and  every  tenth  man  of 
the  soldiers  killed,  and  the  rest  shipped  for  Barbadoes"  (practi- 
cally sold  into  tropical  slavery).  Cromwell's  savage  cruelty  in  his 
dealings  with  the  Irish  is  an  indelible  stain  on  his  memory. 

1  .According  to  the  method  of  reckoning  then  in  vogue,  the  year  164S  did  not  end 
until  -March  24. 


474  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  L§  683 

The  Catholic  Royalists  having  been  defeated,  the  best  lands 
of  the  island  were  confiscated  and  granted  to  English  and  Scotch 
settlers.  This  method  of  securing  Protestant  ascendancy  in  the 
island  is  what  English  history  designates  as  the  "  Cromwellian 
settlement,"  but  which  Irish  resentment  calls  the  "Curse  of 
Cromwell."  The  religious  ferocity  of  this  Puritan  settlement  of 
Ireland  fanned  fiercely  the  flame  of  hatred  which  earlier  wrongs 
had  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  the  Irish  people  against  their  English 
conquerors, —  a  flame  which  has  not  yet  burned  itself  out.^ 

683.  War  with  Scotland  (i650-i65i).  Cromwell  was  called 
out  of  Ireland  by  the  Council  to  lead  an  army  into  Scotland. 
At  Dunbar  he  met  the  Scottish  army.  Before  the  terrible  onset  of 
the  fanatic  Roundheads  the  Scots  were  scattered  like  chaff  before 
the  wind.  Ten  thousand  were  made  prisoners,  and  all  the  camp 
train  and  artillery  were  captured. 

The  following  year,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Dunbar, 
Cromwell  gained  another  great  victory  over  the  Scottish  army  at 
Worcester,  and  all  Scotland  was  soon  after  forced  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  the  Commonwealth. 

684.  Cromwell  ejects  the  Long  Parliament  (i653).  The  war 
in  Scotland  was  followed  by  one  with  the  Dutch.  While  this  war 
was  in  progress  Parliament  came  to  an  open  quarrel  with  the 
army.  Cromwell  demanded  of  Parliament  their  dissolution  and 
the  calling  of  a  new  body.  This  they  refused;  whereupon,  taking 
with  him  a  body  of  soldiers,  Cromwell  went  to  the  House,  and 
after  listening  impatiently  for  a  while  to  the  debate,  suddenly 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  with  bitter  reproaches  exclaimed:  "I  will 
put  an  end  to  your  prating.  Get  you  gone;  give  place  to  better 
men.  You  are  no  Parliament.  The  Lord  has  done  with  you."  At 
a  prearranged  signal  his  soldiers  rushed  in.  The  hall  was  cleared 
and  the  door  locked. 

In  such  summary  manner  the  Long  Parliament,  or  the  "Rump 
Parliament,"  as  it  was  called  in  derision  after  "Pride's  Purge," 

•  Between  the  years  1641  and  1652  over  half  a  milhon  inhabitants  of  the  island  were 
destroyed  or  banished  ;  Prenderj^ast  (CronnvcUian  Settlement^  p.  177)  affirms  that  durinff 
these  years  and  those  immediately  following  five  sixths  of  the  population  perished. 
"  A  man  might  travel,"  he  says,  "  for  twenty  or  thirty  miles  and  not  see  a  living  creature." 


§685]  THE  PROTECTORATE  475 

was  dissolved,  after  having  sat  for  twelve  years.  So  completely 
had  the  body  lost  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all  parties  that 
scarcely  a  murmur  was  heard  against  the  illegal  and  arbitrary 
mode  of  its  dissolution. 

685.  The  "Little  Parliament"  and  the  Establishment  of 
the  Protectorate  (i653).  Cromwell  now  called  together  a  new 
Parliament,  or  more  properly  a  convention,  summoning,  so  far  as 
-he  might,  only  religious,  God-fearing  men.  The  "Little  Parlia- 
ment," as  sometimes  called,  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six 
members,  mainly  religious  zealots,  who  spent  much  of  their  time 
in  Scripture  exegesis,  prayer,  and  exhortation.  Among  them  was 
a  London  leather  merchant,  named  Praise-God  Barebone,  who 
was  especially  given  to  these  exercises.  The  name  amused  the 
people,  and  as  the  exhorter  was  a  fair  representative  of  a  con- 
siderable section  of  the  convention,  they  nicknamed  it  "  Barebone's 
Parliament,"  by  which  designation  it  has  passed  into  history. 

The  "Little  Parliament"  sat  only  five  months,  and  then,  resign- 
ing all  its  authority  into  the  hands  of  Cromwell,  dissolved  itself. 
A  sort  of  constitution,  called  the  "Instrument  of  Government," 
was  now  drawn  up  by  a  council  of  army  officers  and  approved 
by  Cromwell.  This  instrument,  the  first  of  written  constitutions, 
provided  for  a  Parliament  consisting  of  a  single  House,  a  Council 
of  State,  and  an  executive  or  president  serving  for  life  and  bearing 
the  title  of  "Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland."  Undef  this  instrument  Cromwell  became 
Lord  Protector  for  life. 

6S6.  The  Protectorate  (i653-i659).  Cromwell's  power  was 
now  almost  unlimited.  He  was  virtually  a  dictator,  for  he  had 
the  power  of  the  army  behind  him.  The  Protector  summoned, 
winnowed,  and  dissolved  Parliament  at  pleasure.  He  could  get 
together  no  body  of  men  who  could  or  would  work  smoothly  with 
him.  "The  Lord  judge  between  me  and  you,"  were  his  words  of 
dismissal  to  his  last  unmanageable  and  obstinate  Parliament. 

For  five  years  Cromwell  carried  on  the  government  practically 
alone.  His  rule  was  arbitrary  but  enlightened.  He  gave  England 
the  strongest  government  she  had  had  since  the  days  of  W'olsey 


476 


THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION 


[§687 


and  of  Elizabeth.  His  aim  was  "to  make  England  great  and  to 
make  her  worthy  of  greatness."  This  worthiness  he,  zealous 
Puritan  as  he  was,  conceived  could  be  accjuired  by  England 
only  as  her  affairs  were  conducted  by  godly  men  and  in  accord 

with  the  plain  precepts  of 
Scripture. 

Further,  in  Oliver's  mind, 
the  English  nation  could  be 
God's  own  people  and  worthy 
of  greatness  only  as  England 
upheld  the  Protestant  cause 
in  Europe.  It  was  this  re- 
ligious persuasion  which  led 
him  to  become  the  protector 
of  Protestantism  wherever 
imperiled.  He  interposed 
successfully  in  behalf  of  the 
Huguenots  in  France  and  se- 
cured for  them  a  respite  from 
harassment ;  he  obliged  the 
duke  of  Savoy  to  cease  his 
cruel  persecution  of  the  Vau- 
dois  and  caused  the  Pope  to 
be  informed  that  if  the  Prot- 
estants continued  to  be  mo- 
lested anywhere — Cromwell 
laid  the  blame  of  everything 
done  against  Protestant  in- 
terests at  the  door  of  the  Papacy  ^ — the  roar  of  English  guns  would 
speedily  awaken  the  echoes  of  St.  .Angelo. 

687.  Cromwell's  Death.  Notwithstanding  Cromwell  was  a 
man  of  immovable  resolution  and  iron  spirit,  still  he  felt  sorely 
the  burdens  of  his  government,  and  was  deeply  troubled  by  the 
an.xieties  of  his  position.  In  the  midst  of  apparent  success  he  was 
painfully  conscious  of  utter  failure.  He  had  wished  to  establish  a 
constitutional  government.    Instead,  he  found  himself  a  military 


Fig.  124.    Oi.ni'.K  Criimwkll.  (After 
a  portrait  by  Suj/nui  Cooper) 

You  have  that  in  your  countenance  which  I 

would  fain  call  master. —  Earl  of  Kent  to  King 

Lear  in  Shakespeare's  h'ing  Lear 


§688]  THE  RESTORATION  477 

usurper,  whose  title  was  simply  the  title  of  the  sword.  His  govern- 
ment, we  may  believe,  was  as  hateful  to  himself  as  to  the  great 
mass  of  the  English  people.  With  his  constitution  undermined  by 
overwork  and  anxiety,  fever  attacked  him,  and  with  gloomy  appre- 
hensions as  to  the  terrible  dangers  into  which  England  might  drift 
after  his  hand  had  fallen  from  the  helm  of  affairs,  he  lay  down  to 
die,  passing  away  on  the  day  which  he  had  always  called  his 
"fortunate  day," — the  anniversary  of  his  great  victories  of  Dun- 
bar and  Worcester  (September  3,  1658). 

688.  Richard  Cromwell  (i658-i659).  With  his  dying  breath 
Oliver  Cromwell — so  it  was  given  out  —  had  designated  his  son 
Richard  as  his  successor  in  the  office  of  the  Protectorate.  Richard 
was  exactly  the  opposite  of  his  father, —  timid,  irresolute,  and 
irreligious.  The  control  of  affairs  that  had  taxed  to  the  utmost 
the  genius  and  resources  of  the  father  was  altogether  too  great 
an  undertaking  for  the  incapacity  and  inexperience  of  the  son. 
No  one  was  quicker  to  realize  this  than  Richard  himself,  and  after 
a  rule  of  a  few  months,  yielding  to  the  pressure  of  the  army, 
who^se  displeasure  he  had  incurred,  he  resigned  his  office, 

689.  The  Restoration  (leeo).  For  some  months  after  the  fall 
of  the  Protectorate  the  country  trembled  on  the  verge  of  anarchy. 
The  gloomy  outlook  into  the  future  and  the  unsatisfactory  experi- 
ment of  the  Commonwealth  caused  the  great  mass  of  the  English 
people  earnestly  to  desire  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy, —  in 
truth,  the  majority  of  the  nation  had  never  desired  its  abolition, 
Charles  Stuart,  toward  whom  the  tide  of  returning  loyalty  was 
running,  was  now  in  Holland.  General  Monk,  the  commander 
of  the  army  in  Scotland  and  the  representative  of  Scottish  senti- 
ment, marched  south  to  London  and  assumed  virtual  control 
of  affairs. 

The  Long  Parliament,  including  the  members  ejected  by  Pride 
(sect.  678),  now  reassembled,  and  by  resolution  declared  that 
"according  to  the  ancient  and  fundamental  laws  of  this  kingdom 
the  government  is  and  ought  to  be  by  king,  Lords,  and  Com- 
mons." An  invitation  was  sent  to  Prince  Charles  to  return  to  his 
people  and  take  his  place  upon  the  throne  of  his  ancestors. 


478  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§  690 

Amid  the  wildest  demonstrations  of  joy  Charles  stepped  ashore 
on  the  island  from  which  he  had  been  for  nine  years  an  exile.  As 
he  observed  the  extensive  preparations  made  for  his  reception,  and 
received  from  all  parties  the  warmest  congratulations,  he  remarked 
with  pleasant  satire,  "Surely  it  is  my  own  fault  that  I  have  re- 
mained these  years  in  exile  from  a  country  which  is  so  glad  to 
see  me." 

690.  Why  the  Puritan  Revolution  failed.  The  Puritan  Revo- 
lution had  failed.  To  assign  the  deeper  causes  of  this  failure, 
whether  in  circumstances  or  in  the  personal  character  of  Cromwell 
or  of  other  leaders  of  the  movement,  would  be  a  difficult  thing 
to  do;  but  without  much  hesitation  we  may  say  that  one  of  the 
obvious  causes  of  the  failure  was  that  the  Puritans  committed 
the  fault — which  has  been  declared  to  be  almost  always  the  fault 
of  revolutionists — of  going  too  fast  and  too  far.  At  the  outset 
the  Revolution  had  for  its  aim  simply  the  setting  of  reason- 
able restrictions  upon  the  exercise  of  the  royal  authority.  Very 
soon,  however,  the  kingly  office,  the  hereditary  House  of  Lords, 
and  the  Episcopal  Church  had  been  abolished.  Each  of  these 
extreme  measures  raised  up  many  implacable  enemies  of  the 
Revolution. 

Then  again,  Puritanism,  in  many  things,  had  got  far  away  from 
English  good  sense.  The  Puritan  regulations  respecting  harmless 
amusements,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  a  hundred  other 
matters  were  extreme  and  absurd  and  well  calculated  to  provoke 
the  scoff  of  the  godless.  So  while  in  some  directions  the  Puri- 
tans were  merely  in  advance  of  the  mass  of  the  English  people, 
in  others  they  had  gone  far  aside  from  the  path  that  England 
was  treading  or  was  ever  going  to  tread.  Hence  Puritanism  was 
bound  to  fail. 

But  to  leave  the  matter  thus  would  be  misleading.  In  a 
deeper  sense  Puritanism  did  not  fail.  "What  of  heroism,  what  of 
eternal  light,"  says  Carlyle,  "there  be  in  a  man  and  his  life  .  .  . 
remains  forever  a  new  divine  portion  of  the  .sum  of  things."  And 
so  was  it  with  Puritanism..  What  of  heroism  and  of  truth  there 
was  in  it — and  there  was  much  of  both — was  added  to  the  sum 


§  691]  PURITAN  LITERATURE  479 

of  English  history.  IVIuch  that  is  best  and  truest  in  the  life  of 
England  today  and  of  Greater  England  beyond  the  seas  strikes 
its  roots  deep  in  the  Puritanism  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

691.  Puritan  Literature;  it  lights  up  the  Religious  Side  of 
the  English  Revolution.  No  epoch  in  history  receives  a  fresher 
illustration  from  the  study  of  its  literature  than  that  of  the  Puritan 
Revolution.  To  neglect  this,  and  yet  hope  to  gain  a  true  concep- 
tion of  that  wonderful  episode  in  the  life  of  the  English  people 
by  an  examination  of  its  outer  events  and  incidents  alone,  would, 
as  Green  declares,  be  like  trying  to  form  an  idea  of  the  life  and 
work  of  ancient  Israel  from  Kings  and  Chronicles,  without  Psalms 
and  the  Prophets.  The  true  character  of  the  English  Revolution, 
especially  upon  its  religious  side,  must  be  sought  in  the  magnifi- 
cent epic  of  Milton  and  the  unequaled  allegory  of  Bunyan. 

Both  of  these  great  works,  it  is  true,  were  written  after  the 
Restoration,  but  they  were  both  inspired  by  that  spirit  which  had 
struck  down  despotism  and  set  up  the  Commonwealth.  The 
epic  was  the  work  of  a  lonely,  disappointed  republican;  the  alle- 
gory, of  a  captive  Puritan. 

Milton  ( 1 608-1 674)  stands  as  the  grandest  representative  of 
Puritanism.  After  the  death  of  Charles  I  he  wrote  a  famous  work 
in  Latin  entitled  T/ic  Defense  oj  the  English  People,  in  which  he 
justified  the  execution  of  the  king.  The  Restoration  forced  him 
into  retirement,  and  the  last  fourteen  years  of  his  life  were  passed 
apart  from  the  world.  It  was  during  these  years  that,  in  loneli- 
ness and  blindness,  he  composed  the  immortal  poems  Paradise  Lost 
and  Paradise  Regained.  The  former  is  the  "Epic  of  Puritanism." 
All  that  was  truest  and  grandest  in  the  Puritan  character  found 
expression  in  the  moral  elevation  and  religious  fervor  of  this  the 
greatest  of  Christian  epics. 

John  Bunyan  (162 8- 1688)  was  a  Puritan  nonconformist. 
After  the  Restoration  he  was  imprisoned  for  twelve  years  in  Bed- 
ford jail,  on  account  of  nonconformity  to  the  established  worship. 
It  was  during  this  dreary  confinement  that  he  wrote  his  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  the  most  admirable  allegory  in  English  literature.  The 
habit  of  the  Puritan,  from  constant  study  of  the  Bible,  to  employ 


4So  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§  692 

in  all  forms  of  discourse  its  language  and  imagery,  is  best  illus- 
trated in  the  pages  of  this  remarkable  work.  Here,  as  nowhere 
else,  we  learn  what  realities  to  the  Puritan  were  the  Bible  repre- 
sentations of  sin,  repentance,  and  atonement,  of  heaven  and  hell. 


III.  THE  RESTORED  STUARTS 

692.  Punishment  of  the  Regicides.  The  monarchy  having 
been  restored  in  the  person  of  Charles  II  (1660- 1685),  Parlia- 
ment extended  a  general  pardon  to  all  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  late  rebellion,  except  Sir  Henry  Vane  and  certain  of  the 
judges  who  had  condemned  Charles  to  the  block.  Thirteen  of 
these  were  executed  with  revolting  cruelty,  their  hearts  and 
bowels  being  cut  out  of  their  living  bodies.  Others  of  the  regi- 
cides were  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life.  Vane  was  finally 
executed.  Death  had  already  removed  the  other  great  leaders 
of  the  .rebellion, —  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Bradshaw, — beyond  the 
reach  of  Royalist  hate ;  so  vengeance  was  taken  upon  their 
bodies.  These  were  dragged  from  their  tombs  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  hauled  to  Tyburn,  and  there  on  the  anniversary  of 
Charles'  execution  were  hanged,  and  afterwards  beheaded. 

693.  Covenanters.  Early  in  the  reign  the  services  of  the 
Anglican  Church  were  restored  by  Parliament,  and  harsh  laws 
were  enacted  against  all  nonconformists.  Thus  the  Conventicle 
Act  made  it  a  crime  for  five  persons  or  more,  "over  and  above 
those  of  the  same  household,"  to  gather  in  any  house  or  in 
any  place  for  worship,  unless  the  service  was  conducted  according 
to  the  forms  of  the  Church  of  England. 

In  Scotland  the  attempt  to  suppress  conventicles  and  introduce 
Episcopacy  W'as  stoutly  resisted  by  the  Covenanters  (sect.  672), 
who  insisted  on  their  right  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way. 
They  were  therefore  subjected  to  persecutions  most  cruel  and 
unrelenting.  They  were  hunted  by  English  troopers  over  their 
native  moors  and  among  the  wild  recesses  of  their  mountains, 
whither  they  secretly  retired  for  prayer  and  worship.  The  tales 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  Scotch  Covenanters  at  the  hands  of  the 


§694]  ACCESSION  OF  JAMES  II  481 

English  Protestants  form  a  harrowing  chapter  of  the  records  of 
the  ages  of  religious  persecution. 

694.  The  Plague  and  the  Great  Fire.  Early  in  the  summer 
of  1665  London  was  swept  by  a  woeful  plague,  the  most  terrible 
visitation  the  city  had  known  since  the  Black  Death  in  the  Middle 
Ages.    In  six  months  a  hundred  thousand  of  the  population  died. 

The  next  year  a  great  fire  destroyed  over  thirteen  thousand 
houses,  eighty-nine  churches,  and  a  multitude  of  public  buildings. 
The  disaster  was  a  blessing  in  disguise.  The  burned  districts  were 
rebuilt  in  a  more  substantial  way,  with  broader  streets  and  more 
airy  residences.  London  became  a  more  beautiful  and  healthful 
city  than  would  have  been  possible  without  the  fire.^ 

695.  Accession  of  James  II  (i685);  his  Despotic  Course. 
Charles  was  followed  by  his  brother  James,  whose  rule,  was 
destined  to  be  short  and  troubled.  Like  all  the  other  Stuarts, 
James  held  exalted  notions  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  rule 
as  they  please,  and  at  once  set  about  carrying  out  these  ideas  in  a 
most  reckless  manner.  Notwithstanding  he  had  given  solemn 
assurances  that  he  would  uphold  the  Anglican  Church,  he  straight- 
way set  about  the  reestablishment  of  the  Catholic  worship.  He 
arbitrarily  prorogued  and  dissolved  Parliament.  Like  his  brother 
Charles,  he  intrigued  with  Louis  XIV  against  his  own  subjects. 
This  despotic  course  of  the  king  raised  up  enemies  on  all  sides. 
No  party  or  sect,  save  the  most  zealous  Catholics,  stood  by  him. 
The  Tory  gentry  were  in  favor  of  royalty,  but  not  of  tyranny. 

696.  The  Revolution  of  1688  and  the  Declaration  of  Rights. 
The  crisis  which  it  was  easy  to  see  was  impending  was  hastened 
by  the  birth  of  a  prince,  as  this  cut  off  the  hope  of  the  nation 
that  the  crown  upon  James'  death  would  descend  to  his  Protes- 
tant daughter  Mary,  now  wife  of  William  III,  Prince  of  Orange, 
stadtholder  of  Holland.  The  most  active  of  the  king's  enemies 
therefore  resolved  to  bring  about  at  once  what  they  had  been 
inclined  to  wait  to  have  accomplished  by  his  death.    They  sent 

1  Ont  of  the  churches  destroyed  was  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  which  was  rebuilt  with 
great  map;nificence.  Its  designer  was  the  eminent  architect,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  near 
whose  tomb  within  the  huildinp;  is  this  inscription  :  Si  montimentum  icquiris,  cinm/ts/icc, 
"  If  you  seek  his  monument,  look  around." 


482  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§697 

an  invitation  to  the  Prince  to  come  over  and  take  possession  of  the 
government.  William  accepted  the  invitation  and  straightway 
began  to  gather  his  fleet  and  army  for  the  enterprise. 

The  moment  the  ships  of  the  Prince  touched  the  shores  of  the 
island,  the  army  and  people  went  over  to  him  in  a  body.  The  king 
was  absolutely  deserted.  Flight  alone  was  left  him.  The  queen 
was  secretly  embarked  for  France,  where  the  king  soon  after 
joined  her.  The  last  act  of  the  king  before  leaving  England  was 
to  disband  the  army  and  fling  the  Great  Seal  into  the  Thames. 

Almost  the  first  act  of  the  Prince  was  to  issue  a  call  for  a  con- 
vention to  provide  for  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  crown. 
This  convention  did  not  repeat  the  error  of  the  Parliament  that 
restored  Charles  II  and  give  the  crown  to  the  Prince  and  Princess 
without  proper  guaranties  for  the  conduct  of  the  government 
according  to  the  ancient  laws  of  the  kingdom.  They  drew  up 
the  celebrated  Declaration  of  Rights,  which  plainly  rehearsed  all 
the  old  rights  and  liberties  of  Englishmen.  William  and  ISIary 
were  required  to  accept  this  declaration,  and  to  agree  to  rule  in 
accordance  with  its  provisions,  whereupon  they  were  declared  King 
and  Queen  of  England.  In  such  manner  was  effected  what  is 
known  in  history  as  "the  Glorious  Revolution  of  1688." 

697.  The  Social  and  Moral  Life  of  the  "Restoration."  The 
reigns  of  the  restored  Stuarts  mark  the  most  corrupt  period  in 
the  life  of  English  society.  The  low  standard  of  morals  and  the 
general  profligacy  in  manners,  especially  among  the  higher  classes, 
are  in  part  attributable  to  the  demoralizing  example  of  a  shock- 
ingly licentious  court,  but  in  a  larger  measure,  perhaps,  should  be 
viewed  as  the  natural  reaction  from  the  severe,  repellent  Puri- 
tanism of  the  preceding  period.  The  Puritans  erred  in  their  in- 
discriminate censure  of  all  forms  of  harmless  amusement  and 
innocent  pleasure.  They  closed  all  the  theaters,  forbade  the  May- 
pole dances  of  the  people,  condemned  as  paganish  the  observance 
of  Christmas,  and  frowned  upon  color  or  adornment  in  dress  as 
utterly  incompatible  with  a  proper  sense  of  the  seriousness  of  life. 

The  revolt  and  reaction  came,  as  come  they  must.  Upon  the 
"Restoration"  society  swung  to  the  opposite  extreme.    Faith  gave 


§  698]  THE  BILL  OF  RIGHTS  483 

place  to  infidelity ;  sobriety  to  drunkenness ;  Bible  study,  psalm 
singing,  and  exhorting,  to  theatergoing,  profanity,  and  carousing. 
The  literature  of  the  age  is  a  perfect  record  of  this  revolt  against 
the  "sour  severity"  of  Puritanism  and  a  faithful  reflection  of  the 
unblushing  immorality  of  the  times.  So  immoral  and  indecent  are 
the  works  of  the  writers  for  the  stage  of  this  period  that  these 
authors  have  acquired  the  designation  of  ''the  corrupt  dramatists." 
Holding  a  prominent  place  among  them  was  the  poet  Dryden. 

IV.  REIGN  OF  WILLIAM  AND  MARY  (1689-1702) 

698.  The  Bill  of  Rights  (December  16,  1689).  The  Revo- 
lution of  1688  and  the  settlement  of  the  crown  upon  William  and 
IVIary  marks  an  epoch  in  the  constitutional  history  of  England. 
It  settled  forever  the  long  dispute  between  king  and  Parliament, — 
and  settled  it  in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  which 
was  substantially  the  articles  of  the  Declaration  of  Rights  framed 
into  a  law,  and  which  was  one  of  the  earliest  acts  of  the  first 
Parliament  under  William  and  Mary,  in  effect  "transferred  sov- 
ereignty from  the  king  to  the  House  of  Commons." 

By  shutting  out  James  from  the  throne  and  bringing  in  W'illiam, 
and  by  the  exclusion  of  Catholic  heirs  from  the  succession,  it 
plainly  announced  that  the  kings  of  England  derive  their  right 
and  title  to  rule  not  from  the  accident  of  birth  but  from  the  will 
of  the  people,  and  that  Parliament  may  depose  any  king  and, 
excluding  from  the  throne  his  heirs,  settle  the  crown  anew  in 
another  family.  This  uprooted  quite  thoroughly  the  doctrine  that 
princes  have  a  divine  and  inalienable  right  to  the  throne  of  their 
ancestors  and,  when  once  seated  on  that  throne,  rule  simply  as  the 
vicegerents  of  God,  above  all  human  censure  and  control.  W^e 
shall  hear  constantly  less  and  less  in  England  of  this  theory  of 
government  which  for  so  long  a  time  overshadowed  and  threatened 
the  freedom  of  the  English  people. 

The  separate  provisions  of  the  bill,  following  closely  the  language 
of  the  Declaration,  denied  the  dispensing  power  of  the  crown, — 
that  is  to  say,  the  authority  claimed  by  the  Stuarts  of  annulling  a 


484  THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION  [§699 

law  by  a  royal  edict;  forbade  the  king  to  usurp  the  functions  of 
the  courts  of  justice,  to  levy  taxes,  or  to  keep  an  army  in  time  of 
peace  without  the  consent  of  Parliament;  asserted  the  right  of  the 
people  to  petition  for  redress  of  grievances  and  freely  to  choose 
their  representatives;  reaffirmed,  as  one  of  the  ancient  privileges 
of  both  Houses,  perfect  freedom  of  debate ;  and  demanded  that 
Parliament  should  be  frequently  assembled. 

Mindful  of  Charles'  attempt  to  reestablish  the  Catholic  worship, 
the  framers  of  this  same  Bill  of  Rights  further  declared  that  all  per- 
sons holding  communion  with  the  Church  of  Rome  or  uniting  in 
marriage  with  a  Catholic  should  be  ''  forever  incapable  to  possess, 
inherit,  or  enjoy  the  crown  and  government  of  the  realm,"  Since 
the  Revolution  of  1688  no  Catholic  has  worn  the  English  crown. 

All  these  provisions  now  became  inwrought  into  the  English 
constitution  and  from  this  time  forward  were  recognized  as  part 
of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  realm. 

699.  James  attempts  to  recover  the  Throne  :  Battle  of  the 
Boyne  (i69o).  The  first  years  of  William's  reign  were  disturbed 
by  the  efforts  of  James  to  regain  the  throne  which  he  had  aban- 
doned. In  these  attempts  he  was  aided  by  Louis  XIV,  arid  by 
the  Jacobites,'  the  name  given  to  the  adherents  of  the  exile  king. 
The  Irish  gave  William  the  most  trouble,  but  in  the  decisive 
battle  of  the  Boyne  he  gained  a  great  victory  over  them,  and 
soon  all  Ireland  acknowledged  his  authority." 

References.  Gardiner,  S.  R.,  Hisioty  of  Knglavd  {1603-1642).  10  vols.; 
Hi^torv  of  the  Great  Civil  War,  4  vols.;  IHstoiy  of  the  Coinmoincea/th  and  Pro- 
teetorate,  4  vols.;  Oliver  Cro/moeH  and  The  First  T',00  Stuarts  and  the  Puritan 
Kei'olution.  (Dr.  Gardiner  made  this  period  especially  his  own.  Mis  works  arc 
of  the  highest  authority  and  value.)  MAfAit.AV,  T.  H.,  The  //isto>y  of  ling/and 
from  the  Aceession  of  fames  If ;  also  his  lissays  on  Milton  and  John  Hampden. 
McjRi.F.v,  J.,  Oliver  Crom-wcll.  Harrison,  F.,  Oli'cer  Crdmioell.  Hai.e,  E.,  The 
Fall  of  the  Stuarts.  WaKF.MAN,  H.  O.,  The  Chureh  of  the  Puritans.  Trkvki.van, 
G.  M.,  England  under  the  Stuarts. 

1  From  Jacobus,  Latin  for  '"  James." 

2  The  war  of  the  Palatinate  (sect.  6!;<S),  in  which  I-lngland  look  part,  filled  most  of  the 
years  of  William's  reign.  William  died  in  1702  :  Mary  had  died  before  him,  and  as  they 
left  no  children,  the  crown  descended  to  the  Princess  Anne,  Mary's  sister,  the  wife  of 
I'rinre  fJeorge  of  Denmark. 


CHAPTER  LXIII 

THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA:    PETER  THE  GREAT 

(1682-1796) 

700.  General  Remarks.  We  left  Russia  at  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages  a  semi-savage,  semi-Asiatic  power,  so  hemmed  in 
by  barbarian  bands  and  hostile  races  as  to  be  almost  entirely  cut 
off  from  intercourse  with  the  civilized  world  (sect.  521).  In  the 
present  chapter  we  shall  tell  how  her  boundaries  were  pushed 
out  to  the  Euxine  and  to  the  Baltic,  and  how  she  was  initiated  as 
a  member  of  the  European  family  of  nations.  The  main  interest 
of  our  story  will  gather  about  Peter  the  Great,  whose  almost 
superhuman  strength  and  energy  it  was  that  first  lifted  the  great 
barbarian  nation  to  a  prominent  place  among  the  Western  states. 

701.  Accession  of  Peter  the  Great  (1682).  The  royal  line 
established  in  Russia  by  the  old  Norseman  Ruric  (sect.  409) 
ended  in  1598.^  Then  followed  a  period  of  confusion  and  of 
foreign  invasion,  known  as  the  Troublous  Times,  after  which 
Michael  Romanoff,  the  first  of  the  celebrated  family  that  bears 
his  name,  was  chosen  Tsar  (1613).  For  more  than  half  a  century 
after  the  accession  of  the  Romanoffs  there  is  little  either  in  the 
genius  or  in  the  deeds  of  any  of  the  line  calculated  to  draw  our 
special  attention.  But  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century 
there  ascended  the  Russian  throne  "a  man  of  miracles," — a  man 
whose  genius  and  energy  and  achievements  instantly  drew  the 
gaze  of  his  contemporaries,  and  who  has  elicited  the  admiration 
and  wonder  of  all  succeeding  generations.  This  was  Peter  I,  known 
as  Peter  the  Great,  one  of  the  remarkable  characters  of  history. 
He  was  but  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he  assumed  the  full 
responsibilities  of  government. 

1  The  most  noteworthy  ruler  of  this  hnc  duririLr  the  modern  era  was  Ivan  the  Terrible 
(1533-1584).  He  drove  out  the  Tatars  (sect.  466)  and  e.xtended  and  consolidated  the 
Russian  dominions. 

4S5 


486  THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA  [§  702 

702.  The  Conquest  of  Azof  (i696).  At  this  time  Russia  pos- 
sessed onl}'  one  seaport,  Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea,  the  harbor 
of  which  for  a  large  part  of  the  year  is  sealed  against  vessels  by  the 
extreme  cold  of  that  high  latitude.  Russia,  consequently,  had  no 
marine  commerce ;  there  was  no  word  for  fleet  in  the  Russian 
language.  Peter  saw  clearly  that  the  most  urgent  need  of  his 
empire  was  outlets  upon  the  sea.  Hence  his  first  aim  was  to 
wrest  the  Baltic  shore  from  the  grasp  of  Sweden,  and  the  Euxine 
from  the  hands  of  the  Turks. 

In  1695  Peter  sailed  down  the  Don  and  made  an  attack  upon 
Azof,  the  key  to  the  Black  Sea,  but  was  unsuccessful.  The  next 
year,  however,  repeating  the  attempt,  he  succeeded,  and  thus 
gained  his  first  harbor  on  the  south. 

703.  Peter's  First  Visit  to  the  West'  (i697-i698).  With  a 
view  to  advancing  his  naval  projects  Peter  about  this  time  sent 
a  large  number  of  young  Russian  nobles  to  Italy,  Holland,  and 
England  to  acquire  in  those  countries  a  knowledge  of  naval  affairs, 
forbidding  them  to  return  before  they  had  become  good  sailors. 

Not  satisfied  with  thus  sending  to  foreign  parts  his  young  nobil- 
ity, Peter  formed  the  somewhat  startling  resolution  of  going  abroad 
himself  and  learning  the  art  of  shipbuilding  by  personal  experience 
in  the  dockyards  of  Holland.  Accordingly,  leaving  the  govern- 
ment in  the  hands  of  three  nobles,  he  set  out  for  the  Netherlands. 

Peter,  with  his  uncouth  barbarian  suite,  made  a  great  sensation 
as  he  traveled  westward.  His  passage  with  his  court  was  like  the 
passage  of  a  horde  of  untamed  Cossacks.  Peter  himself  often  acted 
like  a  savage  and  made  his  entertainers  no  end  of  trouble  and 
anxiety.  At  Konigsberg  he  asked  to  see  a  man  broken  on  the 
wheel.  The  authorities  explained  to  him  that  they  were  unable 
to  gratify  his  wish,  since  there  was  no  criminal  at  hand  condemned 
to  undergo  that  form  of  punishment.  Peter  was  astonished  that 
that  should  stand  in  the  way  of  his  seeing  how  the  instrument 
worked.    "What  a  fuss  about  killing  a  man!"  he  said. 

The  palaces  in  which  Peter  and  his  company  were  lodged  were 
left  in  a  condition  that  could  hardly  have  been  worse  had  they 

1  I'etcr  made  a  second  European  tour  in  17 16-1717. 


§704] 


PETER'S  REFORMS 


487 


been  subjected  to  a  regular  siege.  Prudent  hosts  removed  every- 
thing breakable  from  the  apartments  designed  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  "barbarian  court." 

Reaching  the  Netherlands  Peter  went  to  the  docks  of  the  East 
India  Company  at  Amsterdam,  where  for  four  months  he  worked 
as  a  common  laborer, 
being  known  among 
his  fellow-workmen  as 
Baas  or  Master  Peter. 
Later  he  visited  as  a 
learner  other  countries. 
Intelligence  of  troubles 
at  home  finally  re- 
called him  in  haste  to 
Moscow. 

704.  Peter's  Many 
Reforms.  Once  more 
at  home,  Peter  was 
straightway  busy  with 
reforms.  The  variety 
of  these  was  so  great, 
and  Peter's  manner  of 
effecting  them  so  harsh 
and  strenuous,  that,  as 
one  has  aptly  expressed 
it,  he  fairly  "knouted 
the  Russians  into  civi- 
lization." 

As,  outgrowths  of 
what  he  had  seen  or  heard  or  had  had  suggested  to  him  on 
his  foreign  tour,  Peter  issued  a  new  coinage,  introduced  schools, 
built  factories,  constructed  roads  and  canals,  established  a 
postal  system,  reformed  the  Russian  calendar,  and  changed  the 
government  of  the  towns  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  citizens 
some  voice  in  the  management  of  their  local  affairs,  as  he  had 
observed  was  done  in  the  Netherlands  and  in  England. 


Fig, 


125.    Petkr  thk  Great.   (After  a 
painting  by  Karcl  de  Moor) 


488  THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA  [§  705 

Most  important  in  its  political  as  well  as  religious  consequences 
was  Peter's  reform  in  the  ecclesiastical  system.  At  this  time  the 
Russian  Church  formed  a  sort  of  state  within  the  state.  The  head 
of  the  Church,  bearing  the  title  of  Patriarch,  was  a  kind  of  Rus- 
sian pope.  Through  his  censorship  of  the  temporal  authority  and 
his  interference  in  matters  secular,  he  hampered  and  embarrassed 
the  government.  Peter  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  things.  He 
abolished  the  patriarchate,  and  in  its  place  created  an  adminis- 
trative body,  appointed  by  himself  and  called  the  Holy  Synod,  to 
take  charge  of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Thus  the  last  restraint  upon 
the  authority  of  the  Tsar  was  destroyed. 

705.  Charles  XII  of  Sweden;  the  Swedish  Monarchy  at  his 
Accession.  Peter's  history  now  becomes  intertwined  with  that  of 
a  man  quite  as  remarkable  as  himself, —  Charles  XII  of  Sweden. 
Charles  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age  when,  in  1697,  the  death  of 
his  father  called  him  to  the  Swedish  throne.^ 

Sweden  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 
The  basis  of  her  greatness  had  been  laid  during  the  period  of 
the  Reformation.  The  traditions  of  the  hero  Gustavus  Adolphus 
cast  a  halo  about  the  Swedish  throne.  The  ideal  of  this  great 
sovereign  had  been  the  creation  of  a  state  embracing  all  the  lands 
bordering  upon  the  Baltic.  In  a  certain  measure  this  magnificent 
ideal  had  been  realized.  The  Baltic  was  virtually  a  Swedish 
lake, —  the  ]\Iediterranean  of  an  empire  which  aspired  to  be  the 
mistress  of  the  Xorth. 

But  unfortunately  Sweden  could  not  maintain  such  a  sea  empire 
without  hemming  in  and  cramping  in  their  normal  development, 
territorial  or  commercial,  various  neighboring  states, —  in  particu- 
lar, Russia,  Poland,  and  Denmark.  In  this  situation  lay  hidden 
the  germ  of  the  long  and  obstinate  so-named  Swedish  Wars,  which 
were  essentially  a  struggle  for  the  control  of  the  Baltic. 

The  accession  to  the  throne  of  the  young  and  inexperienced 
Charles  offered  to  the  jealous  enemies  and  watchful   rivals  of 

1  The  government  of  Sweden  had  now  Ijecome  an  absolute  autocracy.  In  i6<)3 
the  RiksdaR,  or  Diet,  had  proclaimed  the  Swedish  monarch  to  be  an  "all-commanding 
sovereign-king  responsible  for  his  actions  to  none  on  earth,  but  with  authority  as  a 
Christian  king  to  rule  as  it  sccmcth  to  him  best." 


§  706]  THE  BATTLE  OF  NARVA  489 

Sweden  seemingly  too  good  an  opportunity  to  be  lost  for  pushing 
her  back  into  the  northern  peninsula.  Accordingly  three  sover- 
eigns, Frederick  IV  of  Denmark,  Augustus  the  Strong,  Elector  of 
Saxony  and  King  of  Poland,  and  Peter  the  Great  of  Russia, 
leagued  against  him  for  the  purpose  of  appropriating  such  por- 
tions of  his  dominions  as  they  severally  coveted. 

706.  The  Battle  of  Narva  (1700).  But  the  conspirators  had 
formed  a  wrong  estimate  of  the  young  Swedish  monarch.  Not- 
withstanding the  insane  follies  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
indulge,  he  possessed  talent;  especially  had  he  a  remarkable 
aptitude  for  military  affairs,  though  lacking  many  of  the  qualities 
of  a  great  commander. 

With  a  well-trained  force — a  veteran  army  that  had  not  yet 
forgotten  the  discipline  of  the  hero  Gustavus  Adolphus — Charles 
now  threw  himself  first  upon  the  Danes,  and  in  two  weeks  forced 
the  Danish  king  to  sue  for  peace;  then  he  turned  his  little  army 
of  eight  thousand  men  upon  the  Russian  forces  of  twenty  thou- 
sand, which  were  besieging  the  city  of  Narva,  on  the  Gulf  of 
Finland,  and  inflicted  upon  them  a  most  ignominious  defeat. 

707.  The  Founding  of  St.  Petersburg  (1703).  After  chastis- 
ing the  Tsar  at  Narva,  the  Swedish  king  turned  south  and  marched 
into  Poland  to  punish  Augustus  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the 
conspiracy  against  him.  While  Charles  was  busied  in  this  quarter, 
Peter,  having  made  good  by  strenuous  exertions  his  loss  in  men 
and  arms  at  Narva,  was  gradually  making  himself  master  of  the 
Swedish  lands  on  the  Baltic,  and  upon  a  marshy  island  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Neva  was  laying  the  foundations  of  the  city  of 
St.  Petersburg  (now  Petrograd),  which  he  proposed  to  make  the 
western  gateway  of  his  empire. 

The  spot  selected  by  Peter  as  the  site  of  his  new  capital  was 
low  and  subject  to  inundation,'^  so  that  the  labor  requisite  to 
make  it  fit  for  building  purposes  was  simply  enormous.  But 
difficulties  never  dismayed  Peter.  He  gathered  workmen  from 
all  parts  of  his  dominions,  cut  down  and  dragged   to  the  spot 

1  In  selectinp;  such  a  marshy  site  for  his  capital  Peter  may  have  been  aiming  to  repra 
duce  Amsterdam,  in  which  city  he  had  spent  so  much  of  his  time  when  abroad. 


490  THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA  [§  708 

whole  forests  for  piles  and  buildings,  and  caused  a  city  to  rise 
as  if  by  magic  from  the  morasses.  The  splendid  metropolis  stands 
today  one  of  the  most  impressive  monuments  of  the  indomitable 
and  despotic  energy  of  Peter. 

708.  Invasion  of  Russia  by  Charles  XII;  the  Battle  of 
Poltava  (i709).  Having  defeated  the  armies  of  King  Augustus 
and  given  his  crown  to  another,  Charles  was  now  ready  to  turn 
his  attention  once  more  to  the  Tsar.  With  an  army  of  barely 
forty  thousand  men  he  invaded  Russia,  and  finally  laid  siege  to  the 
town  of  Poltava.  Peter  marched  to  its  relief,  and  the  two  armies 
met  in  decisive  combat  in  front  of  the  place.  The  Swedish  army 
was  virtually  annihilated.  Escaping  from  the  field  with  a  few 
followers,  Charles  fled  southward  and  found  an  asylum  in  Turkey.^ 

709.  Russia's  Title  to  Baltic  Lands  confirmed;  Peter's  Death. 
In  172 1  the  Swedish  Wars  were  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Peace  of 
Nystad,  which  confirmed  Russia's  title  to  all  the  eastern  Baltic 
lands  that  Peter  had  wrested  from  the  Swedes.  The  undisputed 
possession  of  so  large  a  strip  of  the  Baltic  seaboard  vastly  increased 
the  importance  and  influence  of  Russia,  which  now  assumed  a 
place  among  the  leading  European  powers. 

Peter's  eventful  reign  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  Four  years 
after  the  end  of  the  Swedish  Wars,  being  then  in  his  fifty-fourth 
year,  he  died  of  a  fever  brought  on  by  his  excesses  and  careless 
exposures.  Probably  in  the  case  of  no  other  European  nation  has 
any  single  personality  left  so  deep  and  abiding  an  impress  upon 
the  national  life  and  history  as  Peter  the  Great  left  upon  Russian 
society  and  Russian  history.  He  planted  throughout  his  vast  em- 
pire the  seeds  of  Western  civilization,  and  by  his  giant  strength 
lifted  the  great  nation  which  destiny  had  placed  in  his  hands  out 
of  .Asiatic  barjjarism  into  the  society  of  the  European  peoples. 

710.  Reign  of  Catherine  the  Great  (i762-i796);  the  Partition 
of  Poland.  From  the  death  of  Peter  on  to  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  Russian  throne  was  held,  the  greater  part 

1  After  spending  five  years  among  the  Turks,  during  which  time  he  acted  in  a  manner 
which  abundantly  justified  his  title  of  the  "  Madman  of  the  North,"  Charles  returned  to 
Sweden.    Soon  after  his  return  he  was  killed  in  battle. 


§710] 


REIGN  OF  CATHERINE  THE  GREAT 


491 


of  the  time,  by  women,  the  most  noted  of  whom  was  Catherine  II, 
the  Great,  who  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  representatives 
of  the  so-called  Enlightened  Despots  (sect.  649).  But  while  a 
woman  of  great  genius,  she  had  most  serious  faults  of  character, 
being  incredibly  prof- 
ligate and  unscrupu- 
lous. 

Carrying  out  ably 
the  policy  of  Peter 
the  Great,  Catherine 
extended  vastly  the 
limits  of  Russian 
dominion  and  opened 
the  country  even  niore 
thoroughly  than  he 
had  done  to  the  en- 
trance of  Western  in- 
fluences. Aside  from 
internal  reforms,  one 
of  the  most  note- 
worthy matters  of 
Catherine's  reign  was  Fig. 
her  participation  in 
the     dismemberment 

of  Poland,  the  partition  of  which  state  she  planned  in  connection 
with  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia  and  IMaria  Theresa  of  Austria. 
On  the  first  division,  which  was  made  in  1772,  the  royal  robbers 
each  took  a  portion  of  the  spoils.^ 


126.   Catherine  II  of  Russia.   (After  a 
portrait  by  Kosse/i/i) 


1  The  Polish  constitution  was  a  sur\-ival  of  the  age  of  mediaeval  feudal  anarchy.  In 
the  struggle  here  between  the  royal  power  and  the  feudal  nobility  the  aristocracy  had 
triumphed  and  had  reduced  the  kingly  authority  to  the  mere  shadow  of  elective  king- 
ship. One  particular  source  of  the  anarchical  state  of  things  was  a  provision  of  the  con- 
stitution which  gave  to  every  single  member  of  the  Diet  the  right  and  power  to  defeat 
any  measure  by  his  vote  cast  in  opposition  (libcnim  veto).  Every  noble  was  virtually  a 
king.  Rut  it  must  be  added  that  this  anarchical  state  of  the  kingdom  cannot  be  pleaded 
by  the  dismemberers  of  Poland  in  extenuation  of  their  crime,  for  they  in  ever)-  possible 
way  hampered  all  schemes  of  reform  and  fostered  the  anarchy  because  it  ser\'ed  their 
interests  and  furthered  their  plans  to  do  so. 


492  THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA  [§  710 

It  is  difficult  to  apportion  the  blame  among  the  participators  in 
this  transaction.  Maria  Theresa  seems  to  have  been  the.  only 
one  connected  with  the  iniquitous  business  who  had  any  scruples 
of  conscience  respecting  the  act.  She  justly  characterized  the 
proposed  partition  as  downright  robbery,  for  a  long  time  stood 
out  against  it,  and  yielded  at  last  and  took  her  portion  only  when 
she  realized  that  she  was  powerless  to  prevent  the  others  from 
carrying  out  the  policy  of  dismemberment. 

In  1793  a  second  partition  was  made,  this  time  between 
Russia  and  Prussia;  and  then,  in  1795,  after  the  suppression 
of  a  determined  revolt  of  the  Poles  under  the  lead  of  the  patriot 
Kosciuszko,  a  third  and  final  division  among  the  three  powers 
completed  the  dismemberment  of  the  unhappy  state  and  erased 
its  name  from  the  map  of  Europe. 

The  territory  gained  by  Russia  in  the  dismemberment  of  PolaiKi 
brought  her  western  frontier  close  alongside  the  civilization  of 
central  Europe.  In  Catherine's  phrase  Poland  had  become  her 
"doormat,"  upon  which  she  stepped  when  visiting  the  West. 

By  the  close  of  Catherine's  reign  Russia  was  beyond  question 
one  of  the  foremost  powers  of  Europe  and  was  henceforward  to 
have  a  voice  in  all  matters  of  general  European  concern.  She  was 
destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  in 
the  great  struggle  between  the  people  and  their  despotic  rulers, — 
a  struggle  already  inaugurated  on  the  Continent  by  the  Revolu- 
tionists in  France. 

References.  RAMisArn,  A.,  I/istoty  0/ Nusshi,  t,\o\^.  Schuyler,  E.,  P,ier 
the  Great,  Emperor  of  Russia  (the  best  biography  of  the  great  Tsar).  For  a 
.shorter,  delightfully  written  life,  see  Moti.ky,  J.,  Peter  the  Great.  Morkii.i,, 
W.  R.,  Story  of  Russia,  chaps,  v-ix,  and  Story  of  Pola/iJ,  chap  xi  (the  last  for 
the  Partition  of  Poland).    Bain,  R.  N.,  Charles  XH. 


CHAPTER  LXIV 

THE  RISE  OF  PRUSSIA :   FREDERICK  THE  GREAT 

(1740-1786) 

711.  The  Beginnings  of  Prussia.  The  nucleus  of  the  Prussian 
kingdom  was  a  little  state  in  the  north  of  Germany  known  as 
the  Mark  or  Electorate  of  Brandenburg.  Early  in  the  fifteenth 
century  it  had  come  under  the  rule  of  the  Hohenzollerns,  a  family 
destined  to  play  a  great  part  in  later  European  history.  Soon 
after  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  importance  of 
the  state  was  greatly  increased  by  the  union  with  it  of  the  Duchy 
of  Prussia,  a  strong  military  state,  under  Polish  suzerainty,  on 
the  Baltic  shore.- 

712.  The  Great  Elector  Frederick  William  (i64o-i688). 
Just  before  the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  a  strong  man- 
Frederick  William,  better  known  as  the  "Great  Elector" — came 
to  the  throne  of  the  dual  state.  At  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  he 
secured  new  territory,  which  greatly  enhanced  his  power  and 
prominence  among  the  German  princes. 

The  Great  Elector  ruled  for  nearly  half  a  century  and  left  to 
his  successor  a  strongly  centralized  authority.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  ideal  representatives  of  the  principle  of  absolute  monarchy 
then  so  dominant.  Like  all  absolute  rulers,  he  placed  his  faith 
in  soldiers  and  laid  the  basis  of  the  military  power  of  Prussia 
by  the  creation  of  a  standing  army. 

713.  How  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  acquired  the  Title 
of  King  of  Prussia.  Elector  Frederick  HI  (1688-17 13),  son  of 
the  Great  Elector,  was  ambitious  for  the  title  of  King,  a  dignity 
that  the  weight  and  influence  won  for  the  Prussian  state  by  his 
father  fairly  justified  him  in  seeking.    He  saw  about  him  other 

1  For  the  early  history  of  this  state  see  sect.  453.  Since  1525  the  duchy  had  been  an 
hereditary  possession  of  a  branch  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern. 

493 


494  THE  RISE  OF  PRUSSIA  L§  714 

princes  less  powerful  than  himself  enjoying  this  dignity,  and  he 
too  "would  be  a  king  and  wear  a  crown." 

It  was  necessary  of  course  for  Frederick  to  secure  the  consent 
of  the  Emperor,  a  matter  of  some  difficulty,  for  the  Catholic 
advisers  of  the  Austrian  court  were  bitterly  opposed  to  having  a 
Protestant  prince  thus  honored  and  advanced.  But  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession  was  just  about  to  open,  and  the  Emperor  was 
extremely  anxious  to  secure  Frederick's  assistance  in  the  coming 
struggle.  Therefore,  on  condition  of  his  furnishing  him  aid  in  the 
war,  the  Emperor  consented  to  Frederick's  assuming  the  new  title 
and  dignity  in  the  Duchy  of  Prussia,  which,  unlike  Brandenburg, 
was  not  included  in  the  Empire.  Accordingly,  early  in  the  year 
1 70 1,  B'rederick,  amidst  imposing  ceremonies,  was  crowned  and 
hailed  as  King  at  Konigsberg.  Hitherto  he  had  been  Elector  of 
Brandenburg  and  Duke  of  Prussia;  now  he  was  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburg and  King  of  Prussia. 

Thus  was  a  new  king  born  among  the  kings  of  Europe.  Thus 
did  the  House  of  Hapsburg  invest  with  royal  dignity  the  rival 
House  of  Hohenzollern.  The  event  is  a  landmark  in  German, 
and  even  in  European,  history.  The  cue  of  German  history  from 
this  on  to  the  World  War  is  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  Prussian 
kings  and  their  steady  advance  to  imperial  honors  and  to  the 
control  of  the  affairs  of  the  German  race. 

714.  Frederick  William  I  (1713-1740).  The  son  and  suc- 
cessor of  the  first  Prussian  king,  known  as  Frederick  William  I, 
was  a  most  extraordinary  character.  He  was  a  strong,  violent, 
brutal  man,  full  of  the  strangest  freaks.  He  had  a  mania  for  big 
soldiers.  With  infinite  expense  and  trouble  he  gathered  a  regi- 
ment of  the  tallest  men  he  could  find,  who  were  known  as  the 
"Potsdam  Giants."  Not  only  were  the  Goliaths  of  his  own 
dominions  impressed  into  the  service,  but  tall  men  in  all  parts  of 
Europe  were  coaxed  and  hired  to  join  the  regiment.  No  present 
was  so  acceptable  to  Frederick  William  as  a  tall  grenadier.  The 
Princess  Wilhelmina,  referring  to  her  father's  ruling  passion,  says: 
"The  regiment  might  justly  be  styled  'the  channel  of  royal  favor,' 
for  to  give  or  to  procure  tall  men  for  the  king  was  sufficient  to 


§  715]     ACCESSION  OF  FREDERICK  THE  GREAT        495 

obtain  anything  of  him."  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  angered 
him  more  than  any  interference  with  his  recruiting  service.  To  the 
Dutch,  who  had  hanged  two  of  his  recruiting  sergeants  and  then 
later  wanted  from  Prussia  a  famous  scholar  for  one  of  their  uni- 
versities, he  is  said  to  have  replied  curtly,  "No  tall  fellows,  no 
professor." 

Considering  the  trouble  and  expense  Frederick  William  had  in 
collecting  his  giants,  the  care  which  he  took  of  them  was  quite 
natural.  He  looked  after  them  as  tenderly  as  though  they  were 
infants,  and  was  very  careful  never  to  expose  them  to  the  dangers 
of  a  battle. 

Rough,  brutal  tyrant  though  he  was,  Frederick  William  was  an 
able  ruler.  He  did  much  to  consolidate  the  power  of  Prussia, 
and  at  his  death  left  to  his  successor  a  considerably  extended 
dominion  and  a  splendidly  drilled  army  of  eighty  thousand  men. 
He  was,  as  Carlyle  calls  him,  the  first  great  drillmaster  of  the 
Prussian  nation. 

715.  Accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  (1740)  ;  his  Youth. 
Frederick  William  was  followed  by  his  son  Frederick  II,  known 
in  history  as  Frederick  the  Great.  Around  his  name  gather  events 
of  world-wide  interest  for  forty-six  years  just  preceding  the 
French  Revolution. 

It  was  a  rough  nurture  Frederick  had  received  in  the  home  of 
his  brutal  father.  His  sister  Wilhelmina  tells  incredible  tales  of  her 
own  and  her  brother's  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their  savage  parent. 
He  made  the  palace  a  veritable  hell  for  them  both.  He  threw 
plates  from  the  table  at  their  heads  and  kept  them  in  constant  fear 
for  their  lives.  Frederick's  fine  tastes  for  music  and  art  and  read- 
ing exposed  him  in  particular,  to  use  the  words  of  Wilhelmina,  to 
his  royal  father's  "customary  endearments  with  his  fist  and  cane." 

Frederick  had  a  genius  for  war,  and  his  father  had  prepared  to 
his  hand  one  of  the  most  efficient  instruments  of  that  art  since 
the  time  of  the  Roman  legions.  The  two  great  wars  in  which 
Frederick  was  engaged,  and  which  raised  Prussia  to  the  first 
rank  among  the  military  powers  of  Europe,  were  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession  and  the  Seven  Years'  War. 


496  THE  RISE  OF  PRUSSIA  [§  716 

716.  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  (i74o-i748).  The  very 
year  that  Frederick  II  ascended  the  Prussian  throne  the  last 
of  the  direct  male  line  of  the  Hapsburgs,  the  Emperor  Charles  VI, 
died.  Now  not  long  before  his  death  Charles  had  bound  all 
the  leading  powers  of  Europe  to  a  sort  of  agreement  called  the 
Pragmatic  Sanction,  by  the  terms  of  which,  in  case  he  should 
leave  no  son,  all  his  hereditary  dominions  should  descend  to  his 
elder  daughter,  Maria  Theresa.  But  no  sooner  was  Charles  dead 
than  a  number  of  princes  each  laid  claim  to  all  or  to  portions  of 
the  Hapsburg  inheritance.  Before  any  of  these  claimants,  how- 
ever, had  begun  hostilities,  Frederick, — whose  father  had  guaran- 
teed the  Pragmatic  Sanction, — without  any  declaration  of  war, 
marched  his  army  into  Silesia  and  took  forcible  possession  of  that 
country.  Frederick's  act  was  an  act  of  pure  brigandage.  He 
himself  frankly  tells  posterity  (hat  the  motives  under  which  he 
acted  were  a  desire  to  augment  his  dominions,  to  render  himself 
and  Prussia  respected  in  Europe,  and  to  "acquire  fame." 

Almost  all  Europe  was  soon  in  arms.  England,  the  Protestant 
Netherlands,  and  eventually  Russia  were  drawn  into  the  war  as 
allies  of  Maria  Theresa.  The  theater  of  the  struggle  came  to 
embrace  India  and  the  French  and  English  colonies  in  the  New 
World.  Macaulay's  well-known  words  picture  the  world-wide 
range  of  the  conflagration  which  Frederick's  act  had  kindled  : 
''In  order  that  he  might  rob  a  neighbor,"  he  says,  "whom  he 
had  promised  to  defend,  black  men  fought  on  the  coast  of  Coro- 
mandel,  and  red  men  scalped  each  other  by  the  Great  Lakes  of 
North  America." 

The  war  went  on  until  1748,  when  it  was  closed  by  the  Peace 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Carlyle's  summing  up  of  the  provisions  of 
the  various  treaties  of  this  peace  can  be  easily  remembered,  and 
is  not  misleading  as  to  the  essentials:  "To  Frederick,  Silesia;  as 
to  the  rest,  wholly  as  they  were." 

717.  The  Seven  Years'  War  (i756-i763).  During  the  eight 
years  of  peace  which  now  followed,  Maria  Theresa  was  busy  form- 
ing a  league  of  the  chief  European  powers  against  the  unscrupu- 
lous despoiler  of  her  dominions.    Russia,  Sweden,  many  of  the 


§  717]  THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  497 

states  of  the  Germanic  body,  and  France  all  ultimately  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  the  queen.  Frederick  could  at  first  find  no 
ally  save  England, —  toward  the  close  of  the  war  Russia  came 
for  a  short  time  to  his  side, —  so  that  he  was  left  almost  alone  to 
fight  the  armies  of  half  the  Continent.' 

The  long  war  is  known  in  European  history  as  the  Seven  Years' 
.War.  At  the  very  outset  it  became  mixed  with  what  in  American 
history  is  called  the  French  and  Indian  War.  For  a  time  fortune 
was  on  Frederick's  side.  In  the  celebrated  battles  of  Rossbach, 
Leuthen,  and  Zorndbrf  he  defeated  successively  the  French,  the 
Austrians,  and  the  Russians,  and  startled  all  Europe  into  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  fact  that  the  armies  of  Prussia  had  at  their 
head  one  of  the  greatest  commanders  of  history. 

But  fortune  finally  deserted  Frederick.  In  sustaining  the  un- 
equal contest  his  dominions  became  drained  of  men,  and  ruin 
seemed  to  impend  over  his  throne  and  kingdom.  But  j"ust  at  this 
time  a  change  in  the  government  of  Russia  put  a  new  face  upon 
affairs.  In  1762  Empress  Elizabeth  of  that  country  died,  and 
Peter  III,  an  ardent  admirer  of-  Frederick,  came  to  the  throne, 
and  immediately  transferred  the  armies  of  Russia  from  the  side 
of  the  allies  to  that  of  Prussia.  The  alliance  lasted  only  a  few 
months,  Peter  being  deposed  and  murdered  by  his  wife,  who  now 
came  to  the  throne  as  Catherine  II.  She  adopted  a  neutral  policy 
and  recalled  her  armies  ;  but  the  temporary  alliance  had  given 
Frederick  a  decisive  advantage,  and  the  year  following  Russia's 
withdrawal,  England  and  France  were  glad  to  give  over  the 
struggle  and  sign  the  Peace  of  Paris  (1763).  Shortly  after  this 
another  peace  (the  Treaty  of  Hubertsburg)  was  arranged  between 
Austria  and  Prussia,  and  one  of  the  most  terrible  wars  that  had 
ever  distressed  Europe  was  over.  Silesia  was  left  in  the  hands 
of  Frederick. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  was  one  of  the  decisive  combats  of  his- 
tory. Besides  the  Anglo-French  question  in  India  (sect.  726),  it 
settled  two  other  questions  of  vast  reach  and  significance.    First, 

1  The  population  of  I^russia  at  this  time  was  about  5,000,000;  the  aggregate  popula- 
tion of  the  slates  leagued  against  her  is  estimated  at  100,000,000. 


498  THE  RISE  OF  PRUSSIA  [§  718 

it  settled,  or  at  least  put  in  the  way  of  final  settlement,  the  Austro- 
Prussian  question, —  the  question  as  to  whether  Austria  or  Prussia 
should  be  leader  in  Germany.  It  made  Prussia  the  equal  of  Aus- 
tria and  foreshadowed  her  ascendancy.  Second,  it  settled  the 
Anglo-French  question  in  America,  a  question  like  the  Austro- 
Prussian  question  in  Europe.  It  decided  that  North  America 
should  belong  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  not  to  the  Latin  race. 

718.  Frederick  rounds  out  his  Dominions  at  the  Expense  of 
Poland.  It  was  about  a  decade  after  the  close  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War  that  Frederick,  as  has  already  been  related,  joined 
with  Catherine  II  of  Russia  and  Maria  Theresa  of  Austria  in  the 
First  Partition  of  Poland  (sect,  710). 

Respecting  the  value  to  Prussia  of  the  territory  she  received 
in  this  transaction,  Frederick  in  his  History  of  my  Own  Times 
comments  as  follows:  "This  was  one  of  the  most  important 
acquisitions  we  could  possibly  make,  because  it  joined  Pomerania 
and  Eastern  Prussia  (see  map,  p.  498),  and  by  rendering  us  mas- 
ters of  the  Vistula,  we  gained  the  double  advantage  of  being  able 
to  defend  this  kingdom  and  of  levying  very  considerable  tolls  on 
the  Vistula,  the  whole  trade  of  Poland  being  carried  on  upon  that 
river."  But  this  aggrandizement  of  Prussia  was  secured  only  by 
just  such  a  cynical  disregard  of  international  honesty  by  Frederick 
as  marked  his  annexation  of  Silesia. 

719,  Frederick's  Political  Philosophy  and  Statecraft.  As 
the  foregoing  sections  have  disclosed,  in  all  matters  concerning 
foreign  states,  expediency  was  Frederick's  only  guide;  he  did 
whatever  he  thought  would  aggrandize  Prussia  and  glorify  himself, 
without  any  regard  to  truth,  honesty,  and  honor.  1  he  following 
are  some  of  his  avowed  principles:  "If  there  is  anything  to  be 
gained  by  it,  we  will  be  honest;  if  deception  is  necessary,  let  us 
be  cheats."  "The  permanent  principle  for  princes  is  to  aggrandize 
their  dominions  as  far  as  their  power  permits  them  to  do  so." 
"Is  it  better  that  a  people  should  perish,  or  that  a  prince  should 
break  his  treaty?  Where  would  one  find  the  imbecile  who  would 
hesitate   in  answering  this  question?"* 

1  Note  King  Albert's  answer  to  this  question,  sect.  932. 


§  720]     FREDERICK  AS  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOT        499 

It  was  this  immoral  political  philosophy  and  statecraft,  so 
cynically  acknowledged  and  acted  upon  by  Frederick  the  Great, 
which,  inherited  and  practiced  by  a  later  Hohenzollern  (Emperor 
William  II),  was  the  fundamental  cause  of  the  great  world 
tragedy  of  19 14. 

720.  Frederick  as  an  Enlightened  Despot.  Frederick  in  all 
his  relations  to  his  own  subjects  had  a  wholly  different  moral 
standard  from  that  which  he  adopted  in  his  dealings  with  his 
brother  sovereigns.  So  reasonable  was  his  conception  of  his 
kingly  office,  and  such  the  use  he  made  of  it,  that  he  has  been 
assigned  a  place  among  the  Enlightened  Despots  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

During  the  intervals  of  peace  between  his  great  wars,  and  for  the 
half  of  his  reign  which  followed  the  Peace  of  Hubertsburg,  Fred- 
erick labored  to  develop  the  resources  of  his  dominions  and  to 
promote  the  material  welfare  of  his  people.  He  dug  canals,  con- 
structed roads,  drained  marshes,  encouraged  agriculture  and  manu- 
factures, and  improved  in  every  possible  way  the  administration 
of  the  government. 

But  Frederick's  attention  was  not  wholly  engrossed  with  look- 
ing after  the  material  well-being  of  his  subjects.  He  was  a  philoso- 
pher and  believed  himself  to  be  a  poet,  and  usually  spent  several 
hours  each  day  in  philosophical  and  literary  pursuits.  It  has  been 
said  of  him  that  "he  divided  with  Voltaire  the  intellectual  mon- 
archy of  the  eighteenth  century."  He  gathered  about  him  a 
company  selected  from  among  the  most  distinguished  authors,  sci- 
entists, and  philosophers  of  the  age,  among  whom  was  his  "co- 
sovereign"  Voltaire,  whom  Frederick  coaxed  to  Berlin  to  add 
brilliancy  to  his  court  and  to  criticize  and  correct  his  verses. 
Frederick  felt  very  proud  —  for  a  time  —  of  this  acquisition,  and 
rejoiced  that  to  his  other  titles  he  could  now  add  that  of  "the 
Possessor  of  Voltaire."  But  it  was  an  ill-assorted  friendship  ; 
the  two  "sovereigns"  soon  quarreled,  and  Voltaire  was  dismissed 
from  court  in  disgrace. 

Frederick  was  a  freethinker.  His  paganism  made  him  indiffer- 
ent toward  all  religions,  and  hence  tolerant.    He  said  in  effect,  as 


500  THE  RISE  OF  PRUSSIA  [§  720 

Carlyle  reports  him,  "In  this  country  every  man  must  get  to 
heaven  in  his  own  way."  The  company  which  he  gathered  at 
Sans  Souci,  his  favorite  palace  at  Potsdam,  near  Berlin,  was  a 
most  extraordinary  collection  of  heretics,  agnostics,  misbelievers, 
and  unbelievers.  It  was  a  company  very  representative  of  that 
learned  literary  and  philosophical  society  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury whose  ideas  and  teachings  did  so  much  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  French  Revolution. 

It  was  on  the  very  eve  of  this  great  political  and  social  upheaval 
that  Frederick  died, —  in  1786.  Carlyle  calls  him  "the  last  of 
the  kings."  He  was  of  course  not  the  last  in  name,  but  he  was 
the  last  to  receive  the  title  of  "  Great."  Only  three  years  after  he 
had  been  laid  in  the  tomb  the  revolution  broke  out  which  closed 
the  Age  of  the  Kings  and  ushered  in  the  Age  of  the  People. 

References.  TnTi.E,  II.,  Ilistojy  of  Pntssia,  4  vols.  (Thi.s  work  was  unhap- 
pily interrupted  at  the  year  1757  by  the  death  of  the  author.)  M.vrriott,  J.  A.  R., 
and  RoHERTSON,  C.  G.,  The  Kvolutioii  of  Pnissia,  chaps,  i-iv.  Reddawav, 
W.  F.,  Frederick  the  Great  atid  the  Rise  of  Pru.sia.  Cari.yi.e,  T.,  Hisioiy  of 
Friedrich  the  Second,  5  vols.  (This  is  one  of  Carlyle's  masterpieces.  Like  his 
French  Kevolutioti,  it  will  be  best  appreciated  if  read  after  some  acquaintance 
with  its  subject  has  been  gained  from  other  sources.  It  deals  almost  exclusively 
with  Frederick's  twenty-three  years  of  war  and  utterly  neglects  or  minimizes 
the  twenty-three  of  his  reign  which  were  years  of  peace.)  Longman,  F.  W., 
Frederick  the  Great  and  the  Se7jen  Years'  Mar.  Hkuhit,  J.  V.,  Maria  Theresa. 
Mac.\ulav,  T.  B.,  Essay  on  Frederick  the  Great. 


CHAPTER  LXV 
ENGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

721.  The  Formula  for  Eighteenth-Century  English  History. 
"The  expansion  of  England  in  the  New  World  and  in  Asia,"  says 
Professor  Seeley,  "is  the  formula  which  sums  up  for  England  the 
history  of  the  eighteenth  century."  This  expansion  movement  was 
simply  the  continuation  of  a  maritime  trade-development  which 
had  begun  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which  had  shaped  large 
sections  of  the  history  of  England  by  bringing  her  into  sharp 
rivalry  first  with  Spain  and  then  with  the  Dutch  Netherlands. 
Before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  England  had  practi- 
cally triumphed  over  both  these  commercial  rivals.  Her  great  and 
dangerous  rival  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  France.  "The 
whole  period,"  says  Seeley,  referring  to  the  period  between  1688 
and  181 5,  "stands  out  as  an  age  of  gigantic  rivalry  between 
England  and  France,  a  kind  of  second  Hundred  Years'  War." 

To  indicate  from  the  viewpoint  of  English  history  the  chief 
episodes  in  this  great  struggle  between  the  two  rivals  for  suprem- 
acy in  the  commercial  and  colonial  world  will  be  our  chief  aim 
in  the  present  chapter.  We  shall,  however,  to  render  more  com- 
plete our  sketch  of  this  century  of  English  history,  touch  upon 
some  other  matters  of  special  interest,  though  connected  in  no 
direct  manner  with  the  dominant  movement  of  the  period. 

722.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  (1701-1714).  Respect- 
ing the  causes  and  results  of  this  war  we  have  already  spoken  in 
connection  with  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  (sect.  659).  Of  what  was 
there  said  we  need  here  recall  only  the  enumeration  of  the 
territorial  gains  which  the  war  brought  to  England;  namely, 
Gibraltar  and  the  island  of  Minorca  in  the  Old  World,  and  Nova 
Scotia  together  with  a  clear  title  to  Newfoundland  and  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Territory,  in  the  New. 

501 


502    ENGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  [§  723 

Of  special  interest  in  the  present  connection  is  that  clause  of 
the  treaty  between  England  and  Spain  whereby  England  took 
away  from  the  French  and  secured  for  English  merchants  the 
contract  known  as  the  "Assiento,"  which  gave  English  subjects 
the  sole  right  for  thirty  years  of  shipping  annually  forty-eight 
hundred  African  slaves  to  the  Spanish  colonies  in  America.  This 
slave  trade  was  as  lucrative  a  traffic  as  the  old  spice  trade,  and 
at  this  time  was  some  such  object  of  rivalry  among  the  commercial 
states  of  Europe  as  that  had  formerly  been. 

Thus,  as  results  of  the  first  war  of  the  eighteenth  century  Eng- 
land had  got  practical  control  of  the  IMediterranean,  had  secured 
a  monopoly  of  the  lucrative  slave  trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies, 
had  made  a  beginning  of  wresting  from  France  her  possessions  in 
the  New  World,  and  had  gained  mastery  of  the  seas.  "Before 
the  war,"  says  Mahan,  ''England  w-as  one  of  the  sea  powers; 
after  it  she  was  the  sea  power,  without  any  second." 

723.  Parliamentary  Union  of  England  and  Scotland  (no?). 
The  most  noteworthy  matter  in  the  domestic  history  of  England 
in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  centur>'  was  the  union  of  the 
Parliaments  of  England  and  Scotland.'  At  this  time  England, 
dealing  with  Scotland  as  though  it  were  a  foreign  state,  shut  out 
the  Scotch  traders  not  only  from  the  English  colonies  but  also 
from  the  English  home  market.  The  feeling  in  Scotland  against 
England  became  intense,  and  there  were  threats  of  breaking  the 
dynastic  ties  which  united  the  two  countries.  The  English  govern- 
ment, realizing  the  danger  which  lurked  in  the  situation,  at  last  met 
the  Scots  in  a  spirit  of  reasonable  compromise.  It  was  agreed  that 
the  Parliaments  of  the  two  countries  should  be  united,  that  perfect 
free  trade  should  be  established  between  them,  and  that  all  the 
English  colonies  should  be  open  to  Scotch  traders.  On  this  basis 
was  brought  about  the  union  of  the  two  realms  into  a  single  king- 
dom under  the  name  of  Great  Britain  (1707).  From  this  time 
forward  the  two  countries  were  represented  by  one  Parliament 
sitting  at  Westminster, 

'  It  was  only  the  crmvtis  of  the  two  kingdoms  which  were  united  upon  the  accession 
of  the  House  of  Stuart  to  the  English  throne  in  1603. 


§  724]  THE  PROIE  MINISTER  AND  THE  CABINET    503 

724.  The  Sovereign's  Loss  of  Political  Influence;  the  Prime 
Minister  and  the  Cabinet.  The  first  Hanoverian  king/  George  I 
(1714-1727),  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  language  and  the  affairs 
of  the  people  over  whom  he  had  been  called  to  rule.  On  this 
account  he  was  obliged  to  intrust  to  his  ministers  the  practical 
administration  of  the  government.  The  same  was  true  in  the 
case  of  George  II.  George  III,  having  been  born  and  educated 
in  England,  regained  some  of  the  old  influence  of  former  kings. 
But  he  was  the  last  English  sovereign  who  had  any  large  personal 
influence  in  shaping  governmental  policies. 

The  power  and  patronage  lost  by  the  crown  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  chief  minister,  popularly  called  the  Prime  INIinister, 
or  Premier,  whose  tenure  of  office  was  dependent  not  upon  the 
good  will  of  the  sovereign  but  upon  the  support  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  This  transfer  of  power  was  not  made  all  at  once,  but 
by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  practically  com- 
pleted, although  this  fact  was  not  always  gracefully  and  promptly 
recognized  by  the  crown.  In  the  English  government  of  today 
the  Prime  Minister  is  the  actual  and  fully  acknowledged  execu- 
tive. The  king  remains  the  titular  sovereign,  indeed,  but  all  the 
proper  duties  of  the  office  are  devolved  upon  the  Premier,  and  all 
real  power  and  patronage  are  in  his  hands. 

It  was  during  the  administration  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the 
first  English  Prime  Minister  in  the  modern  sense,  that  what  is 
known  as  the  Cabinet  assumed  substantially  the  form  which  it  has 
at  the  present  time.  This  body  is  practically  a  committee  composed 
of  members  of  Parliament,  headed  by  the  Prime  Minister,  and  de- 
pendent for  its  existence  upon  the  will  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  Premier  and  his  colleagues  stand  and  fall  together.  When 
the  Cabinet  can  no  longer  command  a  majority  in  the  Commons, 
its  members  resign,  and  a  new  Prime  Minister,  appointed  nomi- 
nally by  the  sovereign,  but  really  by  the  party  in  control  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  forms  a  new  Cabinet. 

1  The  sovereigns  of  the  House  of  Hanover  are  George  I  (1714-1727),  George  II 
(1727-1760),  George  III  (1760-1S20),  George  IV  (1S20-1830),  WilHam  IV  (1S30-1837), 
Victoria  (1837-1901),  Edward  \'1I  (1901-1910),  and  George  V  (1910-         ). 


504   ENGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  [§  725 


725.  The  Religious  Revival;  the  Rise  of  Methodism.  It 
will  be  well  for  us  here  to  turn  aside  from  the  political  affairs  of 
England  and  cast  a  glance  upon  the  religious  life  of  the  time. 

In  its  spiritual  and  moral  life  the  England  of  the  earlier  Han- 
overians was  the  England  of  the  restored  Stuarts.     Among  the 

higher  classes  there  was 
widespread  infidelity ;  re- 
ligion was  a  matter  of  jest 
and  open  scoff.  The  lower 
classes  were  stolid,  callous, 
and  brutal.  Drunkenness 
was  almost  universal  among 
high  and  low.  The  nation 
was  immersed  in  material 
pursuits  and  was  without 
thought  or  care  for  things 
ideal  and  spiritual. 

Such  a  state  of  things 
in  society  as  this  has  never 
failed  to  awaken  in  select 
souls  a  vehement  protest. 
And  it  was  so  now.  At  Ox- 
ford, about  the  year  1730, 
a  number  of  earnest  young 
men,  among  whom  we  find 
John  and  Charles  Wesley 
and  George  Whitefield,  formed  a  little  society,  the  object  of  which 
was  mutual  helpfulness  in  true  Christian  living.  From  their  strict 
and  methodical  manner  of  life  they  were  derisively  nicknamed 
Methodists. 

This  Oxford  movement  was  the  starting  point  of  a  remarkable 
religious  revival.  John  Wesley  was  the  organizer,  Whitefield  the 
orator,  and  Charles  Wesley  the  poet  of  the  movement.'  They  and 
their  helpers  reached  the  neglected  masses  through  open-air  meet- 


FiG.  127.   John  Wesi.ev.   (After  a 
painting  by  G.  Romney) 


1  Charles  Wesley  wrote  over  six  thousand  hymns,  many  of  which  are  still  favorites 
in  the  hymnals  of  today. 


§  726],  THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  505 

ings.  They  preached  in  the  fields,  at  the  street  corners,  beneath 
the  trees,  at  the  great  mines.  The  effects  of  their  fervid  exhorta- 
tions were  often  as  startling  as  were  those  of  the  appeals  of  the 
preachers  of  the  Crusades. 

The  leaders  of  the  revival  at  first  had  no  thought  of  estab- 
lishing a  church  distinct  from  the  Anglican,  but  simply  aimed 
at  forming  within  the  Established  Church  a  society  of  earnest, 
devout  workers.  Their  enthusiasm  and  their  often  extravagant 
manners,  however,  offended  the  staid,  cold  conservatism  of  the 
regular  clergy,  and  they  were  finally  constrained  by  petty  perse- 
cution to  go  out  from  the  established  organization  and  form  a 
church  of  their  own. 

.,The:  revival,  like  the  Puritan  movement  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, left  a  deep  impress  upon  the  life  of  England.  It  is  due 
largely  to  this  movement  that  in  true  religious  feeling,  in  social 
purity,  in  moral  earnestness,  in  humanitarian  endeavor  the 
England  of  today  is  separated  by  such  a  gulf  from  the  England 
of  the  first  two  Georges. 

726.  The  Seven  Years'  War  (i756-i763).  Just  after  the  middle 
of  the  century  there  broke  out  between  the  French  and  the  Eng- 
lish colonists  in  America  the  so-called  French  and  Indian  War. 
This  struggle  became  blended  with  what  in  Europe  is  known  as 
the  Seven  Years'  War  (sect.  717).  At  first  the  war  went  disas- 
trously against  the  English.  The  gloom  was  at  its  deepest  when 
the  elder  William  Pitt  (later  Earl  of  Chatham),  known  as  "the 
Great  Commoner,"  came  to  the  head  of  affairs  in  England.  Pitt 
v/as  one  of  the  greatest  men  the  English  race  has  ever  produced. 
Frederick  the  Great  expressed  his  estimate  of  him  in  these  words : 
''England  has  at  last  brought  forth  a  man." 

The  war  against  France  was  now  pushed  not  only  in  America 
and  upon  the  sea  but  also  in  India  and  in  Europe  with  renewed 
energy.  The  turning  point  of  the  'struggle,  so  far  as  America 
was  concerned,  was  the  great  victory  gained  by  the  English  under 
the  youthful  IVIajor  General  Wolfe  over  the  French  under  Mont- 
calm on  the  heights  of  Quebec  (1759).  The  victory  gave  Eng- 
land Quebec,  the  key  to  the  situation  in  the  New  World. 


5o6    ENGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  [§  727 

In  India  also  fortune  was  declaring  for  the  English  in  their 
struggle  there  with  the  French  and  their  native  allies.  The  mem- 
orable victory  gained  by  Robert  Clive,  an  officer  of  the  British 
East  India  Company,  on  the  field  of  Plassey^  (i757)  virtually 
laid,  in  the  northeastern  region  of  the  peninsula,  the  basis  of 
England's  great  Indian  Empire. 

The  end  came  in  1763  with  the  Peace  of  Paris.  France  ceded 
to  England  Canada  and  all  her  possessions  in  North  America  east 
of  the  ISIississippi  River,  save  New  Orleans  and  a  little  adjoining 
land  (which,  along  with  the  French  territory  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, had  already  been  given  to  Spain),  and  two  little  islands  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Newfoundland,  which  she  was  allowed  to 
retain  to  dry  fish  on.  She  also  withdrew  from  India  as  a  political 
rival  of  England.  England's  supremacy  in  the  colonial  world 
and  her  mastery  of  the  sea  were  now  firmly  established.  This 
position,  notwithstanding  severe  losses  of  which  we  shall  speak 
immediately,  she  has  maintained  up  to  the  present  day. 

727.  The  American  Revolution  (i775-i783).  The  French 
and  Indian  War  was  the  prelude  to  the  War  of  American  Inde- 
pendence. The  overthrow  of  the  French  power  in  America  made 
the  English  colonists  less  dependent  than  hitherto  upon  the 
mother  country,  since  this  removed  their  only  dangerous  rival 
and  enemy  on  the  continent.  Clear-sighted  statesmen  had  pre- 
dicted that  when  the  colonists  no  longer  needed  England's  help 
against  the  French  they  would  sever  the  bonds  uniting  them  to 
the  homeland,  if  at  any  time  these  bonds  chafed  them. 

And  very  soon  the  bonds  did  chafe.  A  majority  in  Parliament, 
thinking  that  the  colonists  should  help  pay  the  expenses  of  colo- 
nial defense,  insisted  upon  taxing  them.    The  colonists  maintained 

1  The  prelude  to  this  battle  was  a  terrible  crime  committed  by  Siraj-ud-DauIa,  viceroy 
of  Bengal  and  other  provinces.  Moved  by  anger  at  the  refusal  of  the  English  official  to 
surrender  certain  fugitives,  and  urged  "on  by  French  agents,  the  viceroy  attacked  the 
English  fort  and  factory  at  Calcutta  and,  having  secured  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
prisoners,  thrust  them  into  a  contracted  guardroom  which  was  provided  with  only  two 
small  grated  windows,  —  what  in  the  story  of  India  is  known  as  ''the  Black  Hole  of 
Calcutta."  During  the  course  of  a  sultry  night  all  but  twenty-three  of  the  unfortunate 
prisoners  died  of  suffocation.  It  was  in  response  to  the  cry  which  arose  for  vengeance 
that  Robert  Clive  was  sent  by  the  English  officials  at  Madras  to  chastise  Bengal. 


§  728]  LEGISLATIVE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  IRELAND    507 

that  they  could  be  justly  taxed  only  through  their  own  legislative 
assemblies.  The  British  government  refusing  to  acknowledge  this 
principle,  the  colonists  took  up  arms  in  defense  of  those  rights 
and  liberties  which  their  fathers  had  won  with  so  hard  a  struggle 
from  English  kings  on  English  soil. 

France,  moved  largely  by  genuine  sympathy  with  the  cause  of 
the  colonists,  gave  them  generous  aid.  Spain  and  Holland  also 
were  both  drawn  into  the  struggle,  fighting  against  their  old-time 
rival  and  foe. 

The  war  was  ended  by  the  Peace  of  Paris  (1783).  England 
acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  thirteen  colonies, — and 
a  Greater  England  began  its  separate  career  in  the  New  World. 
At  the  same  time  England  was  constrained  to  restore  or  to  cede 
various  islands  and  territories  to  France  and  to  Spain.  The 
magnificent  empire  with  which  she  had  emerged  from  the  Seven 
Years'  War  seemed  shattered  and  ruined  beyond  recovery. 

But  there  were  yet  left  to  England  Canada  and  India ;  and 
only  recently  Australia  had  come  into  her  possession.  And  then 
England  was  yet  mistress  of  the  seas.  There  were  elements  here 
which  might  become  factors  of  a  new  empire  greater  than  the 
one  which  had  been  lost.  But  no  Englishman  standing  in  the 
gloom  of  the  year  1783  could  look  far  enough  into  the  future 
to  foresee  the  greatness  and  splendor  of  England's  second  empire 
which  was  to  rise  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  first. 

728.  Legislative  Independence  of  Ireland  (1782).  While  the 
War  of  American  Independence  was  going  on,  the  Irish,  taking 
advantage  of  the  embarrassment  of  the  English  government, 
demanded  legislative  independence.  Since  the  Norman  period 
Ireland  had  had  a  Parliament  of  her  own,  but  it  was  dependent 
upon  the  English  crown,  and  at  this  time  was  subordinate  to 
the  English  Parliament,  which  asserted  and  exercised  the  right 
to  bind  Ireland  by  its  laws.  This  the  Anglo-Irish  patriots  strenu- 
ously resisted  and  drew  up  a  Declaration  of  Rights  wherein  they 
demanded  the  legislative  independence  of  Irelarid.  Fear  of  a 
revolt  led  England  to  grant  the  demands  of  the  patriots  and 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  Irish  Parliament. 


So8    EXGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  [§  729 

729.  The  Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade.  Intimately  con- 
nected with  the  great  religious  revival  led  by  the  Wesleys  and 
Whitefield  were  certain  philanthropic  movements  which  hold  a 
prominent  place  in  the  history  of  the  moral  and  social  life  not 
only  of  England  but  of  humanity.  The  most  noteworthy  of  these 
was  that  resulting  in  the  abolition  of  the  African  slave  trade. 

We  have  noticed  how  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century 
England  secured  from  Spain  the  contract  for  providing  her  Amer- 
ican colonies  with  negro  slaves  (sect.  722).  There  was  then  little 
or  no  moral  disapproval  of  this  iniquitous  traffic.  But  one  effect 
of  the  religious  revival  was  the  calling  into  existence  of  much 
genuine  philanthropic  feeling.  This  sentiment  expressed  itself  in 
a  movement  for  the  abolition  of  the  inhuman  trade. 

The  leaders  of  the  movement  were  Thomas  Clarkson  (1760- 
1846)  and  William  Wilberforce  (i 759-1833).  The  terrible  dis- 
closures which  were  made  of  the  atrocious  cruelty  of  the  slave 
dealers  stirred  the  public  indignation  and  awakened  the  national 
conscience.  Finally,  in  1807,  after  twenty  years  of  agitation  a 
law  was  passed  abolishing  the  trade.'  This  signaled  as  great 
a  moral  victory  as  ever  was  won  in  the  English  Parliament,  for 
the  aroused  moral  sentiment  of  the  nation  was  the  main  force 
that  carried  the  reform  measure  through  the  Houses.^ 

730.  The  Industrial  Revolution.  We  turn  now  from  the 
political,  religious,  and  moral  realms  to  the  industrial  domain. 
In  this  sphere  of  English  life  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  witnessed  a  wonderful  revolution.  It  was  England's 
commercial  supremacy  which  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  great 
industrial  development.  The  outward  movement  had  created  a 
world-wide  market  for  English  goods.  She  had  become  "the 
workshop  of  the  world."  Naturally  manufactures  were  encouraged, 

'  Denmark  had  abolished  the  traffic  in  1S02.  In  the  L'nited  .'^tates  the  importation 
of  slaves  was  illegal  after  1808.  Before  1S20  most  civilized  states  had  placed  the  trade 
under  the  ban. 

2  Another  important  humanitarian  movement  of  the  centiir)'  was  that  of  prison  reform. 
'I"his  was  effected  chiefly  through  the  labors  of  a  single  person,  the  philanthropist  John 
Howard  (1726-1790),  who  devoted  his  life  to  effecting  a  reform  in  prison  conditions  and 
discipline. 


§730]  INDUSTRIAL  REVOLUTION  509 

and  inventive  genius  and  ingenuity  stimulated  to  the  utmost  in 
devising  improved  processes  in  the  industrial  arts.  The  result 
was  an  industrial  revolution  such  as  the  centuries  known  to  his- 
tory had  never  witnessed  before. 

In  order  that  we  may  get  the  right  point  of  view  here  and  be 
able  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  industrial  revolution 
of  which  we  speak,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  first  note  the 
remarkable  fact  that  while  civilization  during  historic  times  had 
made  great  advances  on  many  lines  and  in  many  domains,  in 
the  industrial  realm  it  had  remained  almost  stationary  from  the 
dawn  of  history.  At  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  all  the 
industrial  arts  were  being  carried  on  in  practically  the  same  way 
that  they  were  followed  six  or  seven  thousand  years  before  in 
Egypt  and  Babylonia. 

Suddenly  all  this  was  changed  by  a  few  inventions.  About  1767 
Hargreaves  invented  the  spinning  jenny.  From  the  beginning 
of  history,  indeed  from  a  period  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  prehistoric 
times,  all  the  thread  used  in  weaving  had  been  made  by  twisting 
each  thread  separatel3^  The  spinning  jenny,  when  perfected,^ 
with  a  single  attendant  twisted  hundreds  of  threads  at  once. 
Within  twenty  years  from  the  time  of  this  invention  there  were 
between  four  and  five  million  spindles  in  use  in  England. 

It  was  now  possible  to  produce  thread  in  unlimited  quantities. 
The  next  thing  needed  was  improved  machinery  for  weaving  it 
into  cloth.  This  was  soon  provided  by  Cartwright's  power  loom 
(1785).  The  next  requisite  was  motive  power  to  run  the  new 
machinery.  At  just  this  time  James  Watt  brought  out  his  inven- 
tion, or  rather  improvement,  of  the  steam  engine  (1785).  In  its 
ruder  form  it  had  been  used  in  the  mines;  now  it  was  introduced 
into  the  factories. 

The  primary  forces  of  the  great  industrial  revolution  —  the 
spinning  jenny,  the  power  loom,  and  the  steam  engine — were 
now  at  work.  The  application,  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  of  the  steam  engine  to  transportation  purposes  gave  the 
world  the  steam  railroad  and  the  steamship. 

1  It  was  perfected  by  Arkwright  and  Cromptonby  1779. 


510    ENGLAND  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  [§  731 

These  inventions  and  discoveries  in  the  industrial  realm  mark 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of  civilization.  We  have  to  go  back  to 
prehistoric  times  to  find  in  this  domain  any  inventions  or  dis- 
coveries like  them  in  their  import  for  human  progress.  There  is 
nothing  between  Menes  in  Egypt  and  George  III  in  England  with 
W'hich  to  compare  them.  The  discovery  of  fire,  the  invention  of 
metal  tools,  and  the  domestication  of  animals  and  plants  (sects. 
6-9), —  these  inventions  and  achievements  of  prehistoric  man 
are  alone  worthy,  in  their  effects  upon  human  society,  of  being 
placed  alongside  them. 

731.  Import  to  England  of  the  Industrial  Revolution.  The 
great  industrial  revolution  exerted  a  determining  influence  upon 
the  course  and  issue  of  the  French  Revolution  and  of  the  Napo- 
leonic Wars  which  grew  out  of  it.  It  armed  England,  through  the 
wealth  it  created,  for  the  great  fight,  and  thus  enabled  her  to  play 
the  important  and  decisive  part  she  did  in  that  period  of  titanic 
struggle.  "It  is  our  improved  steam  engine,"  says  Lord  Jeffrey 
in  his  eulogy  of  Watt  (written  in  1819),  "which  has  fought  the 
battles  of  Europe  and  exalted  and  sustained  through  the  late 
tremendous  contest  the  political  greatness  of  our  land."  It  was 
the  steam  engine  that  created  the  wealth  which  enabled  England 
to  carry  on  the  fight  against  Napoleon,  and  which  did  more  per- 
haps than  any  other  agency  in  giving  direction  to  the  course  of 
events  during  the  years  of  his  domination.^ 

732.  Conclusion,  With  the  French  Revolution  we  reach  a 
period  in  which  English  history  must  be  regarded  from  the  view- 
point of  France.  Indeed,  for  the  space  of  half  a  generation  after 
the  rise  of  Napoleon  to  pow^r,  all  European  history  becomes 
largely  biographical  and  centers  about  that  unique  personality. 
Consequently  we  shall  drop  the  story  of  English  history  at  this 
point  and  let  it  blend  with  the  story  of  the  Revolution  and  that 
of  the  Napoleonic  Empire. 

1  The  Industri.il  Revolution  was  effected  in  KnRl.ind  several  decades  in  advance  of 
its  invasion  of  continental  I'-uropc,  partly  because  of  her  commercial  supremacy  and  the 
world-wide  markets  open  to  her  manufacturers  and  partly  because  of  the  abundance  of 
her  coal  and  iron  supplies. 


^732]  REFERENCES  511 

All  that  we  here  need  notice  is  that  the  Napoleonic  Wars,  in 
their  Anglo-French  phase,  were  essentially  a  continuation — and 
the  end — of  the  second  Hundred  Years'  War  between  England 
and  France.  Napoleon,  having  seized  supreme  power  in  France, 
endeavored  to  destroy  England's  commercial  supremacy  and  to 
regain  for  France  that  position  in  the  colonial  world  from  which 
she  had  been  thrust  by  England.  But  this  momentous  struggle, 
like  all  the  others  in  which  England  had  engaged  with  her  ancient 
foe, — save  the  one  in  which  she  lost  her  American  colonies, — 
only  resulted,  as  we  shall  see  later,  in  bringing  into  her  hands 
additional  colonial  possessions,  and  in  placing  her  naval  power 
and  commercial  supremacy  on  a  firmer  basis  than  ever  before. 

References.  For  the  most  suggestive  short  work  on  the  period,  turn  to 
Seeley,  J.  R.,  T/ie  Expansio7i  of  England.  Written  on  somewhat  similar  hnes 
is  Caldecott,  a.,  English  Colonization  and  Empire,  chaps,  iii-v.  Lecky, 
\V.  E.  H.,  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Centnr)',  7  vols.,  is  the  best 
comprehensive  work.  Lavell,  C.  F.,  and  Payne.  C.  E.,  Imperial  Eftgland, 
chaps,  iv-vi.  For  the  naval  history  of  the  period,  see  Mahan,  A.  T.,  The  In- 
Jlne?ice  of  Sea  Potver  upon  History,  chaps,  v-xiv. 

Biographies:  Morley,  J.,  IValpole;  Southev,  W.,  Life  of  Wesley ;  Green, 
W.  D.,  William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham  ;  Harrison,  F.,  Chatham  ;  Macaulay, 
T.  B.,  Essays  on  Horace  Walpole,  the  Earl  of  Chatham  (two  essays),  Lord 
Clive,  and  Warren  Hastings. 

For  the  growth  of  the  English  Cabinet :  Blauvelt,  M.  T.,  The  Developme>it 
of  Cabinet  Governmetit  in  England;  and  Jenks,  E.,  Parliamenta>y  England. 
For  the  rise  of  Methodism  :  Overto.n,  J.  H.,  The  Evangelical  Revival  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century.  For  the  French  and  English  in  America  :  Fiske,  J.,  A'e7v 
England  and  Xe7u  France,  chaps,  vii-.x  ;  and  Parkman,  F.,  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,  2  vols.  For  the  conflict  between  England  and  her  American  colonies : 
Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  The  Amei-ican  Revolution  (ed.  by  James  Albert  Woodburn). 
For  industrial  and  social  P'ngland :  Chey.xey,  E.  P.,  An  Introduction  to  the 
Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  chap.  viii. 


//.  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  AND  THE 
NAPOLEONIC  ERA 

(1789-1815) 

CHAPTER  LXVI 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 

(1789-1799) 

I.  CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION;   THE  STATES-GENERAL 

OF  1789 

733.  Introductory.  The  French  Revolution  was  a  revolt  of 
the  French  people  against  royal  despotism  and  class  privilege. 
"Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity"  was  the  motto  of  the  Revo- 
lution. In  the  name  of  these  principles  great  crimes  were  indeed 
committed,  but  these  excesses  of  the  Revolution  are  not  to  be 
confounded  with  its  true  spirit  and  aims.  The  French  people  in 
1789  contended  for  substantially  the  same  principles  that  the 
English  people  defended  in  1642  and  1688,  and  that  the  Amer- 
ican colonists  maintained  in  1776.  It  is  only  as  we  view  them 
in  this  light  that  we  can  feel  a  sympathetic  interest  in  the  men 
and  the  events  of  this  tumultuous  period  of  French  history. 

734.  Causes  of  the  Revolution.  Chief  among  the  causes  of 
the  French  Revolution  were  the  abuses  and  extravagances  of  the 
Bourbon  monarchy,  the  unjust  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  nobil- 
ity and  the  higher  clergy,  the  wretched  condition  of  the  poorer 
classes  of  the  people,  and  the  revolutionary  character  and  spirit 
of  French  philosophy  and  literature.  To  these  must  be  added, 
as  a  proximate  cause,  the  influence  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. In  the  following  sections  we  will  speak  briefly  of  these 
several  matters. 

512 


§  735]  THE  BOURBON  MONARCHY  513 

735.  The  Bourbon  Monarchy.  We  simply  repeat  what  we 
have  already  learned  when  we  say  that  the  authority  of  the  French 
crown  under  the  Bourbons  had  become  unbearably  despotic  and 
oppressive.  The  life  and  property  of  every  person  in  France  were 
at  the  arbitrary  disposal  of  the  king.  Persons  were  thrown  into 
prison  without  even  knowing  the  offense  for  which  they  were 
arrested.  The  taxes  were  imposed  by  the  authority  of  the  king 
alone.  They  struck  the  poor  rather  than  the  rich,  the  nobles  and 
the  clergy  being  practically  exempt.  In  consequence  of  a  miser- 
able and  corrupt  system  of  collection/  not  more  than  one  half 
or  two  thirds  of  the  money  wrung  from  the  taxpayers  ever  reached 
the  royal  treasury. 

The  most  oppressive  of  the  various  taxes  was  the  salt  tax 
(gahelle),  which  was  a  state  monopoly.  In  some  districts  every 
family  was  forced  to  buy  annually  seven  pounds  of  salt  for  each 
member  of  the  household  above  seven  years  of  age. 

The  public  money  thus  harshly  and  wastefuUy  collected  was  in 
large  part  squandered  in  maintaining  a  court  the  scandalous 
extravagances  of  which  would  shame  a  Turkish  sultan. 

736.  The  Nobility.  The  French  nobility  on  the  eve  of  the 
Revolution  numbered  probably  between  twenty  and  thirty  thou- 
sand families,  comprising  about  a  hundred  or  a  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  persons.  Although  owning  perhaps  one  fifth  of  the 
soil  of  France  and  exercising  many  vexatious  feudal  rights  over 
much  of  the  land  belonging  to  peasant  proprietors,  still  these 
nobles  paid  scarcely  any  taxes. 

The  higher  nobility  were  chiefly  the  pensioners  of  the  king, 
the  ornaments  of  his  court,  living  a  great  part  of  the  year  in 
riotous  luxury  at  Paris  and  Versailles.  Stripped  of  their  ancient 
power,  they  still  retained  all  the  old  pride  and  arrogance  of  their 
order  and  clung  tenaciously  to  the  shreds  of  their  feudal  privileges 
and  exemptions.  The  rents  of  their  estates,  with  which  they 
supplemented  the  bounty  of  the  king,  were  wrung   from   their 

1  A  large  part  of  the  taxes  were  farmed  ;  that  is,  a  body  of  capitalists  were  given  the 
contract  of  collecting  them.  These  farmers,  as  they  were  called,  paid  the  government  a 
sum  agreed  upon  ;  all  over  this  amount  which  they  collected  formed  their  profits. 


514  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§737 

wretched  tenants  with  pitiless  severity.  The  lesser  nobles  were 
more  generally  found  on  their  estates,  many  of  them  living  in 
a  humble  and  pinched  way  not  very  different  from  that  of 
the  peasants. 

737.  The  Clergy.  The  upper  clergy  formed  a  decayed  feudal 
hierarchy.  A  third  of  the  lands  of  France  was  in  their  hands, 
and  this  immense  property  was  almost  wholly  exempt  from 
taxation.  The  bishops  and  abbots  were  usually  drawn  from  the 
ranks  of  the  nobility,  being  attracted  to  the  service  of  the  Church 
rather  by  its  enormous  revenues  and  the  social  distinction  con- 
ferred by  its  offices  than  by  the  inducements  of  piety.  They 
owed  their  position  to  royal  appointment,  and  commonly  spent 
their  princely  incomes,  derived  from  the  Church  properties  and 
the  tithe  exacted  from  the  peasants,  in  luxurious  life  at  court.  As 
a  class  they  had  lost  all  credit  and  authority  with  the  people 
whose  shepherds  they  ostensibly  were. 

The  lower  clergy,  made  up  in  the  main  of  humble  parish  priests, 
were  drawn  largely  from  the  peasant  class,  and  shared  their  pov- 
erty. Their  salaries  were  mere  pittances  compared  with  the 
princely  incomes  enjoyed  by  the  bishops  and  abbots.  They  were 
naturally  in  sympathy  with  the  lower  classes  to  which  by  birth 
they  belonged,  and  shared  their  feelings  of  dislike  toward  the 
great  prelates. 

738.  The  Commons,  or  Third  Estate.  Below  the  two  priv- 
ileged orders  stood  the  non-privileged  commons,  known  as  the 
Tiers  Etat,  or  Third  Estate.  This  class  embraced  all  the  nation 
aside  from  the  nobility  and  the  clergy, —  that  is  to  say,  the  great 
bulk  of  the  population.  It  numbered  probably  about  twenty-five 
million  souls.  The  order  was  divided  into  two  chief  classes: 
namely,  the  bourgeoisie,  or  middle  class,  and  the  peasantry. 

The  middle  class,  which  was  comparatively  small  in  numbers, 
was  made  up  of  the  well-to-do  and  wealthy  merchants,  traders, 
lawyers,  and  other  professional  men.  It  constituted  the  most  intel- 
ligent portion  of  the  French  nation.  It  was  from  this  class  that 
came  most  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolutionary  movement  during 
its  earlier  stages. 


§739]       THE  SPIRIT  OF  FRENCH  PHILOSOPHY  515 

The  peasants  constituted  the  majority  of  the  Third  Estate. 
Though  virtually  all  the  French  peasantry  had  long  since  been 
freed  from  the  personal  servitude  of  mediaeval  serfdom,  and  many 
had  become  the  owners  of  the  land  they  tilled,  still  the  majority 
owed  to  some  feudal  lord  tolls  on  the  roads  and  ferries  and  dues 
at  the  market-place.  Furthermore,  they  must  grind  their  grain  at 
the  lord's  mill,  press  their  grapes  at  his  winepress,  and  bake  their 
bread  at  his  oven,  paying  for  the  use  of  mill,  press,  and  oven  a 
heavy  toll.  In  early  feudal  times  these  things  were  intended  for 
the  advantage  of  the  serf,  but  now  they  had  become  oppressive 
monopolies  and  instruments  of  extortion. 

It  is  true  that  during  the  eighteenth  century  the  condition  of 
perhaps  the  majority  of  the  French  peasants  had  been  much 
improved,  and  that  on  the  eve  of  the  Revolution  their  state  was 
much  more  tolerable  than  that  of  the  peasantry  in  the  countries 
of  central  and  eastern  Europe.  The  number  of  peasant  proprie- 
tors had  become  large  and  was  steadily  increasing,  and  in  many 
districts  at  least  was  greater  than  at  any  earlier  period.  Yet 
never  had  a  more  rebellious  spirit  stirred  in  the  French  peas- 
antry than  at  just  this  time.  And  the  reason  of  this  was  because 
the  system  under  which  they  lived,  as  has  been  tersely  said, 
"[though]  not  more  severe,  was  more  odious"  than  ever  before. — 
more  odious  because  the  peasant  of  1789,  being  more  intelligent, 
realized  more  keenly  the  wrongs  he  suffered  and  knew  better  his 
rights  as  a  man  than  did  the  ignorant,  stolid  peasant  of  the  pre- 
vious century. 

739.  The  Revolutionary  Spirit  of  French  Philosophy.  French 
philosophy  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  skeptical  and  revolu- 
tionary. The  names  of  the  great  writers  Voltaire  and  Rousseau^ 
suggest  at  once  its  tone  and  spirit.  Voltaire  (1694-1778)  gave 
expression,  forcible  and  striking,  to  what  the  people  were  vaguely 
thinking  and  feeling.  He  has  been  called  "the  magician  of  the  art 
of  writing."    He  had  a  most  marvelous   faculty  of  condensing 

1  Other  names  are  Montesquieu  (1689-1755),  whose  most  important  work  is  entitled 
The  Spirit  of  Laws,  and  Diderot  (1713-17S4)  and  D'Alembert  (1717-1783),  who  were 
the  chief  of  the  so-called  Encyclopedists,  the  compilers  of  an  immense  work  in  twenty- 
eight  volumes. 


5i6 


THE  FREXCH  REVOLUTION 


[§740 


thought ;  putting  whole  philosophies  in  an  epigram,  he  supplied 
the  French  people  with  proverbs  for  a  century.  His  aim  was  to 
make  justice  and  reason  dominant  in  human  affairs.  He  disbelieved 
in  revealed  religion  ;  '■  he  would  have  men  follow  simply  their  inner 
sense  of  what  is  right  and  reasonable.  His  writings  stirred  all 
Europe  as  well  as  all  France,  and  did  so  much  to  prepare  the  minds 

and  hearts  of  men  for  the  Revo- 
lution that  in  one  sense  there 
was  much  truth  in  his  declara- 
tion, "I  have  accomplished 
more  in  my  day  than  either 
Luther  or  Calvin." 

Rousseau  (171 2-1778),  like 
Voltaire,  had  neither  faith  nor 
hope  in  existing  institutions. 
Society  and  government  seemed 
to  him  contrivances  designed  by 
the  strong  for  the  enslavement 
of  the  weak :  "  Man  was  born 
free  and  is  everywhere  in  chains" 
is  the  burden  of  his  complaint. 
He  would  have  men  give  up  their  artificial  life  in  society  and 
return  to  the  simplicity  of  what  he  called  ''a  state  of  nature."  He 
declared  that  untutored  tribes  are  happier  than  civilized  men. 
He  drew  such  an  idyllic  picture  of  the  life  of  man  in  a  state  of 
nature  that  V'oltaire,  after  reading  his  treatise  thereon,  wrote  him 
that  it  filled  him  with  a  longing  to  go  on  all  fours. 

The  tendency  and  effect  of  this  skeptical  philosophy  was  to 
create  hatred  and  contempt  for  the  institutions  of  both  State 
and  Church,  and  to  foster  discontent  with  the  established  order 
of  things. 

740.  Influence  of  the  American  Revolution.  Not  one  of  the 
least  potent  of  the  proximate  causes  of  the  French  Revolution 
was  the  successful  establishment  of  the  American  republic.    The 


Fk;.  128.   \'()i.TAiKi:.   (From  a 
statue  by  Hoiidon) 


'  Ry  some  of  Voltaire's  disciples  his  doctrines  were  developed  into  atheism  ;  but 
Voltaire  himself  was  a  deist,  combating  alike  atheism  and  Christianity. 


§741]  END  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  LOUIS  XV  517 

republican  simplicity  of  the  newborn  state,  contrasting  so  strongly 
with  the  extravagance  and  artificiality  of  the  court  at  Versailles, 
elicited  the  unbounded  admiration  of  the  French  people.  In  this 
young  republic  of  the  Western  world  they  saw  realized  the  Arcadia 
of  their  philosophy.  It  was  no  longer  a  dream.  They  themselves 
had  helped  to  make  it  real.  Here  the  rights  of  man  had  been 
recovered  and  vindicated.  And  now  this  liberty  which  the  French 
people  had  helped  the  American  colonists  to  secure,  they  were 
impatient  to  see  France  herself  enjoy. 

741.  End  of  the  Reign  of  Louis  XV;  "After  us  the  Deluge." 
The  long-gathering  tempest  is  now  ready  to  break  over  France. 
Louis  XV  died  in  1774.  In  the  early  part  of  his  reign  his  subjects 
had  affectionately  called  him  "the  Well-Beloved,"  but  long  before 
his  death  all  their  early  love  and  admiration  had  been  turned  into 
hatred  and  contempt.  Besides  being  despotically  inclined,  the 
king  was  indolent  and  scandalously  profligate.  During  twenty 
years  of  his  reign  he  was  wholly  under  the  influence  of  the 
notorious  IMadame  de  Pompadour. 

The  inevitable  issue  of  this  orgy  of  folly  and  extravagance 
seems  to  have  been  clearly  enough  perceived  by  the  chief  actors 
in  it,  as  is  shown  by  that  reckless  phrase  attributed  to  the  king 
and  his  favorite, —  "After  us  the  deluge."  And  after  them  the 
deluge  indeed  did  come.  The  near  thunders  of  the  approaching 
tempest  could  already  be  heard  when  Louis  XV  lay  down  to  die. 

742.  The  Accession  of  Louis  XVI  (1774);  Financial 
Troubles  ;  the  Meeting  of  the  Notables  (i787).  Louis  XV  left 
the  tottering  throne  to  his  grandson,  Louis  XVI,  then  only 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  had  recently  been  married  to  the  beau- 
tiful and  light-hearted  Archduchess  Marie  Antoinette  of  Austria, 
daughter  of  the  empress-queen  ]\Iaria  Theresa. 

How  to  raise  money  was  the  urgent  and  anxious  question  with 
the  government.  France  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  The 
king  called  to  his  side  successively  Turgot,  Necker,  and  other 
eminent  statesmen  as  his  ministers  of  finance;  but  their  policies 
and  remedies  availed  little  or  nothing.  The  traditions  of  the 
court    and    the    heartless    selfishness    of    the    privileged    classes 


5i8  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§743 

rendered  reform  in  taxation  and  efficient  retrenchment  impossible. 
The  national  debt  grew  constantly  larger. 

In  17S7  the  king  summoned  the  Notables,  a  body  composed 
chiefly  of  great  lords  and  prelates,  who  had  not  been  called  to 
advise  with  the  king  since  the  year  1626.  But  miserable  coun- 
selors were  they  all.  Refusing  to  give  up  any  of  their  feudal  privi- 
leges, or  to  tax  the  property  of  their  own  orders  that  the  enormous 
public  burdens  which  were  crushing  the  commons  might  be  light- 
ened, their  coming  together  resulted  in  nothing. 

743.  The  Calling  of  the  States-General;  the  Elections;  the 
Cahiers.  As  a  last  resort  it  was  resolved  to  summon  the  united 
wisdom  of  the  nation,  to  call  together  the  States-General,  the 
almost-forgotten  national  assembly,  composed  of  representatives 
of  the  three  estates, —  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  the  commons. 

In  December,  1788,  the  king  by  proclamation  called  upon  the 
French  people  to  elect  deputies  to  this  body,  which  had  not  met 
to  deliberate  upon  the  affairs  of  France  for  a  period  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  years.  Divine-right  royalty  had  seen  no 
necessity  hitherto  of  seeking  counsel  of  the  people. 

In  connection  with  the  elections  there  had  been  made  by  the 
king's  advisers  a  momentous  decision,  one  which  practically  in- 
volved the  fate  of  the  monarchy.  The  commons  had  insisted  upon 
being  allowed  double  representation,  that  is,  as  many  deputies  as 
both  the  other  orders,  and  had  been  authorized  to  send  up  six 
hundred  deputies,  while  the  nobility  and  the  clergy  were  each  to 
have  only  three  hundred  representatives. 

The  electors  had  been  instructed  to  draw  up  statements  of 
grievances  and  suggestions  of  reform  for  the  information  and 
guidance  of  the  States-General.  These  documents,  which  are 
known  as  cahiers,  form  a  valuable  record  of  the  France  of  1 789, — 
of  the  grievances  of  the  people,  and  of  their  ideas  of  reform.  One 
demand  common  to  them  all  is  that  the  nation  through  its  repre- 
sentatives shall  have  part  in  the  government.  Those  of  the  Third 
Estate  call  for  the  abolition  of  feudal  rents  and  services  and  for 
the  equalization  among  the  orders  of  the  burdens  of  taxation. 
In  a  word,  they  were  petitions  for  equality  and  justice. 


§  744]    CREATION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY      519 

744.  The  States-General  changed  into  the  National  As- 
sembly. On  the  fifth  of  May,  1789,  a  memorable  date,  the  dep- 
uties to  the  States-General  met  at  Versailles.  Thither  the  eyes 
of  the  nation  were  now  turned  in  hope  and  expectancy.  Surely  if 
the  redemption  of  France  could  be  worked  out  by  human  wisdom, 
it  would  now  be  effected.  At  the  very  outset  a  dispute  arose  be- 
tween the  privileged  orders  and  the  commons  respecting  the  man- 
ner of  voting.  It  had  been  the  ancient  custom  of  the  body  for 
each  order  to  deliberate  in  its  own  hall,  and  for  the  vote  upon  all 
questions  to  be  by  orders.^  But  the  commons  now  demanded  that 
this  old  custom  should  be  ignored,  and  that  the  voting  should 
be  by  individuals ;  for  should  the  vote  be  taken  by  orders,  then 
their  double  representation  would  be  a  mere  mockery,  and  the 
clergy  and  nobility  by  combining  could  always  outvote  them.  For 
five  weeks  the  quarrel  kept  everything  in  a  deadlock. 

Finally  the  commons  took  a  decisive,  revolutionary  step.  They 
declared  themselves  the  National  Assembly,  and  then  invited  the 
other  two  orders  to  join  them  in  their  deliberations,  plainly  inti- 
mating that,  if  they  did  not  choose  to  do  so,  the  commons  would 
proceed  to  the  consideration  of  public  affairs  without  them. 

King,  nobles,  and  prelates  were  alarmed  at  the  bold  attitude 
assumed  by  the  commons.  The  king,  in  helpless  alarm,  suspended 
the  sitting  of  the  rebellious  deputies  and  guarded  the  door  of 
their  hall.  But  the  commons,  gathering  in  the  tennis  court,  a 
great  barnlike  building,  bound  themselves  by  oath  not  to  separate 
until  they  had  framed  a  constitution  for  France. 

Soon  the  commons  were  joined  by  a  few  of  the  nobility  and 
a  larger  number  of  the  deputies  of  the  clergy.  It  looked  as  though 
the  three  orders  were  going  to  coalesce.  The  court  party  labored 
to  prevent  this.  A  royal  sitting,  or  joint  meeting  of  the  three  es- 
tates, was  held.  The  king  read  a  speech  in  which,  assuming  the 
tone  of  an  English  Stuart,  he  admonished  the  commons  not  to 
attack  the  privileges  of  the  other  orders,  and  then  commanded  the 

1  That  is  to  say,  the  majority  of  the  representatives  of  each  order  decided  the  vote 
for  that  order,  and  then  two  of  these  majority  votes  registered  the  decision  of  the  whole 
body  of  deputies. 


520  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§  74S 

deputies  of  the  three  orders  to  retire  to  their  separate  halls.  The 
clergy  and  the  nobility  obeyed.    The  commons  kept  their  seats. 

At  this  juncture  the  master  of  ceremonies  somewhat  pertly 
said  to  them,  "You  heard  the  king's  command?"  Thereupon 
Mirabeau,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  commons,  a  man  of  "Jupiter- 
like" mien  and  tone,  turned  upon  the  messenger  with  these 
memorable  words:  "Go,  tell  those  who  sent  you  that  we  are  here 
by  the  command  of  the  people,  and  here  we  shall  stay  until 
driven  out  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet."  The  poor  official  was 
so  frightened  at  the  terrible  Mirabeau  that  he  straightway  sought 
the  door,  withdrawing  from  the  assembly,  however,  backwards,  as 
he  had  been  wont  to  do  in  retiring  from  the  presence  of  the  king. 
His  instincts  were  right.  He  was  indeed  in  the  presence  of  the 
sovereign, —  the  newborn  sovereign  of  France. 

The  triumph  of  the  Third  Estate  was  soon  complete.  Real- 
izing that  it  was  futile  and  dangerous  longer  to  oppose  the  will  of 
the  commons,  the  king  ordered  those  of  the  nobles  and  clergy 
who  had  not  yet  joined  them  to  do  so,  and  they  obeyed.  The 
States-General  thus  became  in  reality  the  National  Assembly. 

II.  THE  NATIONAL  OR  CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY 
(JUNE  17,  1789-SEPTEMBER  30,  1791) 

745.  Prominent  Men  in  the  Assembly.  Lamartine'  declares 
that  the  National  Assembly  was  "the  most  imposing  body  of  men 
that  ever  represented  not  only  France  but  the  human  race." 
It  was  impressive  not  so  much  from  the  ability  or  genius  of  its 
individual  members,  though  the  picked  men  of  France  were  here 
gathered,  as  through  the  tremendous  interests  it  held  in  its  hands. 
Yet  there  were  in  the  Assembly  a  number  of  men  whose  names 
cannot  be  passed  in  silence. 

Among  the  nobility  was  the  patriotic  Lafayette,  who  had  won 
the  admiration  of  his  countrymen  by  sjilcndid  services  rendered 
the  struggling  republic  in  the  New  World.  His  influence  at 
this  time  was  probably  greater  than  that  of  any  other  man 
in  France. 


§746] 


STORMING  OF  THE  BASTILLE 


521 


Belonging  by  birth  to  the  same  order,  but  sitting  now  as  a 
deputy  of  the  commons,  was  Mirabeau,  a  large-headed,  dissolute, 
unscrupulous  man,  an  impetuous  orator,  the  mouthpiece  of  the 
Revolution.  But  though  violent  in  speech  he  was  moderate  in 
counsel.  He  wanted  to  right  the  wrongs  of  the  people,  yet  with- 
out undermining  the  throne.  He  wanted  reform  but  not  revolu- 
tion. He  aspired  to  be  a  leader,  but  no  one  at  first  had  confidence 
in  him,  such  had  been  his  past  life. 
Arthur  Young  said  of  him,  "His 
character  is  a  dead  weight  upon 
him."  Yet,  notwithstanding  his  lack 
of  private  virtues,  Mirabeau's  qual- 
ities of  leadership  at  length  gained 
for  him  recognition,  and  he  was  at 
one  time  president  of  the  National 
Assembly.  .  But  his  life  of  dissipa- 
tion had  undermined  his  constitution. 
He  died  in  1791,  despairing  of  the 
future  for  France. 

Still  another  eminent  representa- 
tive of  the  commons  was  Abbe 
Sieyes,  a  person  of  wonderful  facility 
in    framing    constitutions.     France 

wijl  have  much  need  of  such  talent,  as  we  shall  see.  Sieyes 
had  recently  stirred  all  France  by  a  remarkable  pamphlet  entitled 
What  is  the  Third  Estate?  (Qu'est-ce  que  le  Tiers  Etat?)  He 
answers,  "Everything!  "  "What  has  it  been  hitherto?"  "Noth- 
ing! "    "What  does  it  wish?"    "To  be  something." 

746.  Storming  of  the  Bastille  (July  14,  1789).  Hardly  had 
the  National  Assembly  come  into  being  at  V^ersailles  before  Paris 
became  the  scene  of  what  may  be  regarded  as  the  opening  act  of 
the  Revolution.  The  news  of  the  dismissal  by  the  king  of  a 
minister  in  whom  the  people  had  great  confidence,  incited  them 
to  action.  On  the  morning  of  July  14  a  great  mob  assaulted  the 
Bastille,  the  old  state  prison  and,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
the  emblem  of   royal   despotism.    In  a   few  hours  the   fortress 


Fig.  129.    MiRAiiEAU.  (After 
a  painting  by  L.  Massatd) 


522  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§747 

was  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  The  governor  and  others  of 
the  defenders  of  the  place  were  murdered,  their  heads  placed 
at  the  end  of  pikes,  and  thus  borne  through  the  streets.  The  walls 
of  the  hated  old  prison  were  razed,  and  the  people  danced  on  the 
spot.  The  key  of  the  dungeon  was  sent  by  Lafayette  to  Wash- 
ington ''as  a  trophy  of  the  spoils  of  despotism."  In  a  letter  ac- 
companying the  gift,  Lafayette  wrote:  "That  the  principles  of 
America  opened  the  Bastille  is  not  to  be  doubted,  and  therefore 
the  key  goes  to  the  right  place."  ^ 

The  destruction  of  the  Bastille  by  the  Paris  mob  was  the  death 
knell  not  only  of  Bourbon  despotism  in  France  but  of  royal 
tyranny  everywhere.  The  intelligence  of  the  event  was  received 
with  rejoicing  in  America  and  wherever  the  ideas  and  principles 
of  self-government  were  entertained.  When  the  news  reached 
England  the  great  statesman  Fox,  perceiving  its  significance  for 
liberty,  exclaimed,  ''How  much  is  this  the  greatest  event  that 
ever  happened  in  the  world,  and  how  much  the  best!" 

Louis  XVI  regarded  the  matter  with  different  feelings.  When 
news  of  the  affair  was  carried  to  him  at  V^ersailles  he  exclaimed, 
"What,  Rebellion  1^''  "No  sire,"  was  the  response;  "it  is  Revo- 
lution.''''   The  great  French  Revolution  had  indeed  begun. 

747.  The  Abolition  of  Privileges  (August  4,  1789).  As  the 
news  of  the  storming  of  the  Bastille  spread  through  France  the 
peasantry  in  many  districts,  following  the  example  set  them  by 
the  capital,  destroyed  the  local  bastilles  and  sacked  and  burned 
the  castles  of  the  nobles.  The  main  object  of  the  peasants  was  to 
destroy  the  title  deeds  in  the  archives  of  the  manor  houses,  since 
it  was  by  virtue  of  these  charters  that  the  lords  exercised  so  many 
rights  over  the  lands  of  the  peasants  and  exacted  so  many  teasing 
and  iniquitous  tolls  and  dues.  This  terrorism  caused  the  begin- 
ning of  what  is  known  as  the  emigration  of  the  nobles,  that  is, 
their  flight  beyond  the  frontiers  of  France. 

The  storm  without  hastened  matters  within  the  National  Assem- 
bly at  Versailles.  The  privileged  orders  now  realized  that,  to  save 
themselves  from  the  fury  of  the  masses,  they  must  give  up  those 

1  The  rusty  relic  may  be  seen  today  in  a  case  at  Mount  Vernon. 


§  748]    DECLARATION  OF  THE  RIGHTS  OF  MAN       523 

vexatious  feudal  privileges  which  were  a  main  cause  of  the  suf- 
ferings and  the  anger  of  the  people.  Rising  in  the  tribune,  two 
young  and  liberal-minded  members  of  the  nobility  represented 
that  they  were  willing  to  renounce  all  their  feudal  rights  and  ex- 
emptions. A  contagious  enthusiasm  was  awakened  by  this  act 
of  patriotic  generosity.  The  impulsiveness  of  the  Gallic  heart  was 
never  better  illustrated.  Everybody  wanted  to  make  sacrifices 
for  the  common  good.  The  nobles  and  the  clergy,  crowding  to  the 
tribune,  strove  with  one  another  in  generous  rivalry  to  see  who 
should  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  in  the  surrender  of  rents, 
tolls,  fees,  and  feudal  dues.^  Thus  in  a  single  night  much  of  the 
rubbish  of  the  broken-down  feudal  system  was  cleared  away. 

748.  The  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  (1739) .  After  the 
abolition  of  the  feudal  system  the  next  work  of  the  National 
Assembly  was  the  drawing  up  of  a  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of 
Man.  This  was  in  imitation  of  what  had  been  done  by  the 
American  patriots. 

The  dominant  notes  of  the  Declaration  were  ( i )  the  equality  of 
men, —  "Men  are  born  and  remain  free  and  equal"  ;  (2)  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people, — -"All  sovereignty  resides  essentially 
in  the  nation"^  and  (3)  the  impartial  nature  of  law, — "Law 
is  the  expression  of  the  general  will  .  .  .  and  should  be  the  same 
for  all." 

749.  Nationalization  of  Church  Property;  the  Civil  Consti- 
tution of  the  Clergy.  Shortly  after  the  promulgation  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Rights,  a  Parisian  mob  fetched  the  king  from  Versailles 
to  the  capital.  Their  purpose  in  this  was  to  hold  him  as  a  sort  of 
hostage  for  the  good  conduct  of  the  nobles  and  the  foreign  sov- 
ereigns while  the  new  constitution  was  being  prepared  by  the 
Assembly. 

For  two  years  following  this  there  was  a  comparative  lull  in  the 
storm  of  the  Revolution.  Meanwhile  the  National  Assembly  was 
making  sweeping  reforms  both  in  State  and  Church.    One  of  the 

1  Tolls  and  dues  were  the  lord's  rights  over  roads,  ferries,  bridges,  markets,  as  well 
as  over  grinding  grain,  pressing  grapes,  and  baking  bread  (cf.  sect.  417).  These  were 
abolished  without  compensation.  In  lieu  of  other  annoying  feudal  dues,  specified  pay- 
ments by  the  peasants  were  substituted. 


52  4  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§750 

most  important  of  its  measures  and  one  far-reaching  in  its  effects 
was  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  Church.  In  all, 
property  consisting  largely  of  lands  and  worth  it  is  estimated  over 
a  billion  francs  was  by  decree  made  the  property  of  the  nation.^ 

The  nationalization  of  the  property  of  the  Church  rendered  it 
necessary  that  the  nation  should  make  some  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  clergy.  This  was  done  a  little  later  by  a  decree 
known  as  the  Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy,  which  pro- 
vided for  the  support  of  all  ministers  of  religion  through  reason- 
able salaries  paid  by  the  nation.  All  the  clergy,  bishops 
and  parish  priests  alike,  were  to  be  chosen  by  election,  and 
all  were  to  be  required  to  take  oath  to  support  the  new 
constitution. 

Naturally  this  conversion  of  the  Church  in  France  into  a  State 
Church  created  a  schism  in  the  nation.  Out  of  a  hundred  and 
thirty-four  bishops  only  four  would  take  the  prescribed  oath. 
From  this  time  on  a  large  section  of  the  French  clergy  became 
the  bitter  enemies  of  the  Revolution. 

750.  Flight  and  Arrest  of  the  King  (1791).  The  attempt  of 
the  king  to  make  his  way  out  of  France  and  join  the  emigrant 
nobles  now  gave  an  entirely  new  turn  to  the  course  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Under  cover  of  night  the  royal  family  in  disguise  left  the 
Tuileries,  and  by  post  fled  towards  the  frontier.  When  just  a 
few  hours  more  would  have  placed  the  fugitives  in  safety  among 
friends,  the  Bourbon  features  of  the  king  betrayed  him,  and  the 
entire  party  was  arrested  and  carried  back  to  Paris. 

The  attempted  flight  of  the  royal  family  was  a  fatal  blow  to  the 
monarchy.  It  deepened  the  growing  distrust  of  the  king.  The 
people  began  to  talk  of  a  republic.  The  word  was  only  whispered 
as  yet ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  those  who  did  not  shout  vocif- 
erously, '^Vive  la  Rt'puhliquc  f  were  hurried  to  the  guillotine. 

'  It  being  found  impossible  to  sell  at  once  and  at  fair  prices  so  large  an  amount  of 
real  estate,  the  Assembly,  using  the  nationalized  lands  as  security,  issued  against  them 
currency  notes,  called  assii^nals.  As  almost  always  happens  in  such  cases,  inflation  of 
the  currency  resulted.  Fresh  issues  of  notes  were  made  until  they  became  quite  worth- 
less, as  in  the  case  of  the  Continental  notes  issued  by  the  Continental  Congress  in  the 
American  War  of  Independence. 


§751]      THE  JACOBINS  AND  THE  CORDELIERS  525 

751.  The  Clubs:  Jacobins  and  Cordeliers.  In  order  to  render 
intelligible  the  further  course  of  the  Revolution  we  must  now 
speak  of  two  clubs,  or  organizations,  which  came  into  prominence 
about  this  time,  and  which  were  destined  to  become  more  power- 
ful than  the  Assembly  itself,  and  to  be  the  chief  instruments  in 
inaugurating  the  Reign  of  Terror.  These  were  the  societies  of  the 
Jacobins  and  the  Cordeliers.^  The  objects  of  these  clubs  were  to 
watch  for  conspiracies  of  the  Royalists  and  by  constant  agitation 
to  keep  alive  the  flame  of  the  Revolution. 

752.  The  New  Constitution.  After  a  little  more  than  two 
years'  deliberation  the  special  task  of  the  National  Assembly, 
namely,  the  framing  of  a  constitution  for  France,  was  completed. 
This  instrument,  which  made  the  government  of  France  a  consti- 
tutional monarchy,  was  solemnly  ratified  by  the  king.  The  Na- 
tional Assembly  then  adjourned. 

III.  THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY  (OCTOBER  1,  1791- 
SEPTEMBER  19,  1792) 

753.  The  Membership  of  the  Assembly;  the  Constitu- 
tionalists and  the  Girondins.  The  new  constitution  provided  for 
a  national  legislature  to  be  called  the  Legislative  Assembly.  This 
body  was  made  up  of  several  groups  or  parties,  of  which  we  need 
here  notice  only  the  Constitutionalists  and  the  Girondins.  The 
Constitutionalists,  as  their  name  implies,  supported  the  new  con- 
stitution, being  in  favor  of  a  limited  monarchy.  The  Girondins, 
so  called  from  the  department  (the  Gironde)  whence  their  most 
noted  leaders  came,  wanted  to  establish  in  France  a  federal 
republic  like  that  just  set  up  in  the  New  World. 

754.  The  Temper  of  the  Assembly.  Some  seemingly  trivial 
matters  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  spirit  of  the  new  Assembly. 
At  the  very  outset  the  members  were  much  perplexed  in  regard 
to  how  they  should  address  the  king  and  "wound  neither  the 
national  dignity  nor  the  royal  dignity."  Some  were  for  using  the 
titles  Sire  and  Majesty,  against  which  others  indignantly  protested, 

1  The  Jacobins  were  so  called  from  an  old  convent  in  which  their  first  meetings  were 
held  •.  the  Cordeliers  were  named  after  a  Franciscan  convent  where  they  assembled. 


526  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§  755 

declaring  that  "the  law  and  the  people  are  the  only  Majesty. ^^ 
It  was  finally  decided  that  Louis  XVT  should  be  called  simply 
King  of  the  French. 

Another  thing  which  troubled  the  republican  members  was  the 
gilded  throne  in  which  the  king  was  wont  to  sit  when  he  visited 
the  Assembly.  It  was  resolved  that  this  article  should  be  removed 
and  an  ordinary  chair  substituted  for  it,  this  to  be  placed  in  exact 
line  with  that  occupied  by  the  president  of  the  Assembly. 

Again  there  were  objections  raised  to  the  ceremony  of  the 
members  rising  and  standing  uncovered  in  the  king's  presence. 
So  it  was  decreed  that  the  members  might  sit  before  royalty 
with  their  hats  on. 

755.  Beginning  of  War  with  Old  Monarchies  (1792).  The 
kings  of  Europe  were  watching  with  the  utmost  concern  the 
course  of  events  in  France.  They  regarded  the  cause  of  Louis  XVI 
as  their  own.  If  the  French  people  should  be  allowed  to  overturn 
the  throne  of  their  hereditary  sovereign,  who  any  longer  would 
have  respect  for  the  divine  right  of  kings? 

The  warlike  preparations  of  Austria — which  had  entered  into 
an  alliance  with  Prussia — alarmed  the  Revolutionists  and  led  the 
Legislative  Assembly  to  declare  war  against  that  power.  A  little 
later  the  allied  armies  of  the  Austrians  and  Prussians  crossed  the 
frontiers  of  France.  Thus  was  taken  the  first  step  in  a  series  of 
wars  which  were  destined  to  last  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
in  which  France  almost  single-handed  was  to  struggle  against  the 
leagued  powers  of  Europe  and  to  illustrate  the  miracles  possible 
to  enthusiasm  and  genius. 

756.  The  Massacre  of  the  Swiss  Guards  (August  10,  1792). 
The  allies  at  first  gained  easy  victories  over  the  ill-disciplined 
forces  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
commander  of  the  Prussian  army,  advanced  rapidly  upon  Paris. 
An  insolent  proclamation  which  this  general  now  issued,  wherein 
he  ordered  the  French  nation  to  submit  to  their  king,  and 
threatened  the  Parisians  with  the  destruction  of  their  city  should 
any  harm  be  done  the  royal  family,  drove  the  French  people 
frantic  with  indignation  and  rage. 


§756] 


MASSACRE  OF  THE  SWISS  GUARDS 


527 


The  first  outbreak  of  the  popular  fury  occurred  in  Paris.  The 
mob  of  the  capital  was  swollen  by  the  arrival  of  bands  of  picked 
men  from  other  parts  of  France.  From  the  south  came  the  "six 
hundred  Marseillais  who  knew  how  to  die."  They  brought  with 
them  "a  better  contingent  than  ten  thousand  pikemen," — the 
Marseillaise  Hymn,  the  martial  song  of  the  Revolution.^ 


'  H£LV£ 


-    V   ^r 


i  i(,.  130.    Tiiii  Liu.N  OF  Llhi:km-;.-    i^Fiuin  a  phuiugiaphj 


On  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  August  the  hordes  of  the  city 
were  mustered.  The  Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  defended  by  several 
hundred  Swiss  soldiers,  the  remnant  of  the  royal  guard,  was 
assaulted.  The  royal  family  fled  for  safety  to  the  hall  of  the 
Assembly  close  by.  A  terrible  struggle  followed  in  the  corridors 
and  upon  the  grand  stairways  of  the  palace.  The  Swiss  stood 
"steadfast  as  the  granite  of  their  Alps."  But  they  were  over- 
whelmed at  last,  and  all  were  killed,  either  in  the  building  itself 
or  in  the  surrounding  courts  and  streets.- 

1  This  famous  war  song  was  composed  in  1792  by  Rougct  de  Lisle,  a  young  French 
engineer. 

2  The  number  of  Swiss  guards  slain  was  over  seven  hundred.  Their  fidelity  and 
devotion  are  commemorated  by  one  of  the  most  impressive  monuments  in  Europe,  the 


528  THE  FRENX^H  REVOLUTION  [§757 

757.  The  Massacre  of  September   ("Jiail  Delivery").    The 

army  of  the  allies  hurried  on  toward  the  capital  to  avenge  the 
slaughter  of  the  royal  guards  and  to  rescue  the  king.  Paris  was  all 
excitement.  "We  must  stop  the  enemy,"  cried  Danton,  "by 
striking  terror  into  the  Royalists."  To  this  end  the  most  atrocious 
measures  were  now  adopted.  It  was  resolved  that  the  Royalists 
confined  in  the  jails  of  the  capital  should  be  killed.  A  hundred 
or  more  men  acted  as  executioners,  and  to  them  the  prisoners 
were  handed  over  after  a  hasty  examination  before  self-appointed 
judges.  The  number  of  victims  of  this  terrible  "September 
^ylassacre,"  as  it  is  called,  is  conservatively  estimated  at  from 
eight  hundred  to  fourteen  hundred.  Europe  had  never  before 
known  such  a  "jail  delivery."  It  was  the  greatest  crime  of  the 
French  Revolution. 

758.  Defeat  of  the  Allies  at  Valmy  (1792).  Meanwhile,  in 
the  open  field,  the  fortunes  of  war  inclined  to  the  side  of  the 
Revolutionists.  The  French  army  in  the  north  was  successful 
in  checking  the  advance  of  the  allies,  and  finally  at  Valmy  suc- 
ceeded in  inflicting  upon  them  a  decisive  defeat,  which  caused 
their  hasty  retreat  beyond  the  frontiers  of  France.  The  day  of 
this  victory  the  Legislative  Assembly  came  to  an  end,  and  the 
same  day  the  National  Convention  assembled. 

IV.   THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION    (SEPTEMBER   20,  1792- 
OCTOBER  26,  1795) 

759.  Parties  in  the  Convention.  The  Convention,  consisting 
of  seven  hundred  and  forty-nine  deputies,  among  whom  was  the 
celebrated  freethinker  Thomas  Paine,  embraced  two  active  groups, 
the  Girondins  and  the  Mountainists,  the  latter  being  so  named 
from  the  circumstance  that  they  sat  on  the  upper  benches  in  the 
Assembly  hall.  There  were  no  monarchists;  all  were  republicans. 
No  one  now  dared  to  speak  of  a  monarchy. 

so-called  "  Lion  of  Lucerne,"  at  Luceme  in  .Switzerland.  In  a  larpe  recess  in  a  cliff  a 
dying  lion,  pierced  by  a  lance,  protects  with  its  paw  the  Bourbon  lilies.  'I'hc  wonderfully 
lifelike  figure  is  cut  out  of  the  natural  rock.  The  designer  of  the  memorial  was  the 
celebrated  Danish  sculptor  Thorvaldsen. 


§  760]        ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  529 

It  was  the  Mountainists  who  were  to  shape  the  measures  of  the 
Convention.  Their  leaders  were  Danton  and  Robespierre,  deputies 
of  Paris.  The  party  was  inferior  in  numbers  to  that  of  the  Giron- 
dins,  .but  was  superior  in  energy  and  daring,  and  was,  moreover, 
backed  by  the  Parisian  mob. 

760.  The  Establishment  of  the  Republic  (September  21, 
1792);  Beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  Propaganda.  Almost 
the  first  act  of  the  Convention  was  to  abolish  the  monarchy.  The 
motion  for  the  abolition  of  royalty  was  not  even  discussed.  "What 
need  is  there  for  discussion,"  exclaimed  a  delegate,  "where  all  are 
agreed?  Courts  are  the  hotbed  of  crime,  the  focus  of  corruption; 
the  history  of  kings  is  the  martyrology  of  nations." 

The  day  following  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  was  made 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  the  first  day  of  the  Year  I.  That  was 
to  be  regarded  as  the  natal  day  of  Liberty.  A  little  later,  incited 
by  the  success  of  the  French  armies,  the  Convention  called  upon 
all  nations  to  rise  against  despotism,  and  pledged  the  aid  of 
France  to  any  people  wishing  to  secure  freedom. 

This  call  to  the  peoples  of  Europe  to  rise  against  their  kings 
and  to  set  up  republican  governments  converted  the  revolutionary 
movement  in  France  into  a  propaganda,  and  naturally  made  more 
implacable  than  ever  the  hatred  toward  the  Revolution  felt  by  all 
lovers  and  beneficiaries  of  the  old  order  of  things.  The  declara- 
tion was  a  main  cause  of  the  fresh  coalition  formed  against  the 
new  Republic  and  of  the  war  of  1793. 

761.  Trial  and  Execution  of  the  King.  The  next  work  of  the 
convention  was  the  trial  and  execution  of  the  king.  He  was 
brought  before  the  bar  of  that  body,  charged  with  having  conspired 
with  the  enemies  of  France,  with  having  opposed  the  will  of  the 
people,  and  with  having  caused  the  massacre  of  the  tenth  of 
August.  The  sentence  of  the  Convention  was  immediate  death. 
On  January  21,  1793,  the  unfortunate  monarch,  after  a  last  sad 
interview  with  his  wife  and  children,  was  conducted  to  the  scaffold. 

762.  Coalition  against  France;  the  Counter-Revolution  in 
La  Vendee.  The  regicide,  together  with  the  propaganda  decree 
of  the  preceding  year,  awakened  among  all  the  old  monarchies  of 


530  THE  FRENXH  REVOLUTION  [§  763 

Europe  the  most  bitter  hostility  against  the  French  Revolutionists. 
The  act  was  interpreted  as  a  threat  against  all  kings.  A  grand 
coalition,  embracing  England,  Austria,  Prussia,  the  Protestant 
Netherlands,  Spain,  Portugal,  Sardinia,  Tuscany,  Naples,  and  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  was  formed  to  crush  the  republican  move- 
ment. Armies  aggregating  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  men 
threatened  France  at  once  on  every  frontier. 

While  thus  beset  with  foes  without,  the  Republic  was  threat- 
ened with  even  more  dangerous  enemies  within.  The  people  of 
La  Vendee,  in  western  France,  where  the  peasants  were  angered 
at  the  conscription  decrees  of  the  Convention,  and  where  there 
was  still  a  strong  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  Church  and  the 
monarchy,  rose  in  revolt  against  the  Revolutionists. 

763.  Creation  of  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety  (1793).  The  defeat  of  the  French  armies 
in  the  north  and  the  advance  of  the  allies  caused  the  greatest  ex- 
citement among  the  Parisian  populace,  who  now  demanded  that  the 
Convention  should  overawe  the  domestic  enemies  of  the  P^evolution 
by  the  establishment  of  a  judicial  dictatorship,  a  sort  of  tribunal 
which  should  take  cognizance  of  all  crimes  against  the  Republic. 

Danton,  while  acknowledging  the  injustice  that  the  summary 
processes  of  such  a  court  might  do  to  many  unjustly  suspected, 
justified  its  establishment  by  arguing  that  in  time  of  peace  society 
lets  the  guilty  escape  rather  than  harm  the  innocent;  but  in 
times  of  public  danger  it  should  rather  strike  down  the  innocent 
than  allow  the  guilty  to  escape.  It  was  on  this  principle  that 
France  was  to  be  governed   for  one  terrible  year. 

A  little  later  was  organized  what  was  called  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  consisting  of  nine  persons,  members  of  the  Con- 
vention. It  was  invested  with  dictatorial  authority.  The  vast 
powers  wielded  by  the  committee  were  delegated  to  it  for  a  single 
month  only,  but  were  renewed  from  month  to  month. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  the  character  of  these  two  bodies  in 
order  to  follow  intelligently  the  subsequent  events  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  to  understand  how  the  atrocious  tyranny  of  the  Reign 
of  Terror  was  exercised  and  maintained. 


§764]  THE  FALL  OF  THE  GIRONDINS  531 

764.  The  Fall  of  the  Girondins.  Still  gloomier  tidings  came 
from  every  quarter, — news  of  reverses  of  the  armies  of  the 
Republic  in  front  of  the  allies  and  of  successes  of  the  counter- 
revolutionists  in  La  Vendee.  The  Mountainists  in  the  Conven- 
tion, supported  by  the  rabble  of  Paris,  urged  the  most  extreme 
measures.  The  Girondins  opposed  these.  The  Parisian  mob  filled 
the  city  with  cries  of  "Down  with  the  Girondins!  "  "If  the  per- 
sons of  the  people's  representatives  be  violated,"  warningly  ex- 
claimed one  of  the  Girondin  orators,  "  Paris  will  be  destroyed,  and 
soon  the  stranger  will  be  compelled  to  inquire  on  which  bank  of 
the  Seine  the  city  stood." 

The  Girondins  were  finally  overborne.  An  immense  mob  sur- 
rounded the  hall  of  the  Convention  and  demanded  that  their 
chiefs  be  given  up  as  enemies  of  the  Republic.  Thirty-one  of 
their  leaders  were  surrendered  and  placed  under  arrest,  a  pre- 
liminary step  to  the  speedy  execution  of  many  of  them  during 
the  opening  days  of  the  Reign  of  Terror.  Thus  did  the  Parisian 
mob  purge  the  National  Convention  of  France,  as  the  army 
purged  Parliament  in  the  English  Revolution  (sect.  678). 

The  Reign  of  Terror  (September,  1793-JuLY,  1794) 

765.  The  Great  Committee  of  Public  Safety;  its  Principle 
of  Government.  The  perilous  situation  created  by  domestic  in- 
surrection and  foreign  invasion  demanded  a  strong  executive.  It 
was  created.  The  Convention  reorganized  the  Committee  of  Pub- 
lic Safety,  which  now  became  what  is  known  as  the  Great  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety,  suspended  the  constitution,  and  invested 
the  new  board  with  supreme  executive  authority.  For  almost  a 
full  year  the  twelve  men— of  whom  Robespierre  was  the  most 
conspicuous — composing  this  body  exercised  absolute  power  over 
the  life  and  property  of  every  person  in  France.  The  Committee's 
principle  of  government  was  simple.  It  governed  by  terror.  Its 
rule  is  known  as  the  "  Reign  of  Terror."  The  people  acquiesced 
in  this  system  of  government  because  persuaded  that  only  thus 
could  France  be  saved   from  anarchv  and  foreign  subjection. 


532 


THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 


[§766 


766.  The  Execution  of  Marie  Antoinette,  of  the  Girondins, 

and  of  Madame  Roland.  One  of  the  earliest  victims  of  the  guil- 
lotine under  the  organized  Terror  was  the  queen.  The  attention 
of  the  Revolutionists  had  been  turned  anew  to  the  remaining 
members  of  the  royal  family  by  reason  of  the  recognition  by  the 
allies  of  the  Dauphin  as  king  of  France/  and  by  the  recent 
alarming  successes  of  their  armies.    The  queen,  who  had  now 

borne  nine  months'  imprisonment, 
was  brought  before  the  terrible 
Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  con- 
demned to  the  guillotine.  A  hide- 
ous mob  of  men  and  women  howled 
with  savage  delight  around  the  cart 
which  bore  the  unhappy  queen  to 
the  scaffold. 

The  guillotine  was  now  fed  daily 
with  the  best  blood  of  France.  Two 
weeks  after  the  execution  of  the 
queen  twenty  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
Girondins,  who  had  been  kept  in 
confinement  since  their  arrest  in 
the  Convention,  were  pushed  be- 
neath the  knife.  Hundreds  of  others 
followed.  Most  illustrious  of  all  the  victims  after  the  queen  was 
Madame  Rohmd,  who  was  accused  of  being  the  friend  of  the 
Girondins.  An  incident  at  the  scaffold  is  related  as  a  memorial  of 
her.  As  she  was  about  to  lay  her  head  beneath  the  knife,  her  eye, 
it  is  said,  chanced  to  fall  upon  the  statue  of  Liberty  which  stood 
near  the  scaffold.  "O  Liberty!"  she  exclaimed;  "what  crimes 
are  committed  in  thy  name!  " 

767.  The  New  Calendar.  While  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
was  clearing  out  of  the  way  the  enemies  of  the  Republic  by 
the  quick  processes  of  the  guillotine,  the  Convention  was  busy 


Fig.  131.   Till';  Cu'illotink 


1  The  Dauphin,  a  mere  child  of  eight  years,  was  at  this  time  a  prisoner  in  the  'I'emple 
(the  old  fortress  of  the  Templars  at  I'aris).  Me  died  in  1705,  his  death  having  been 
caused  or  at  least  hastened  by  the  brutal  ill  usage  he  received  at  the  hands  of  his  jailers. 


§  768j       ATTEMPT  TO  ABOLISH  CHRISTIANITY  533 

reforming  the  ancient  institutions  and  customs  of  the  land.  They 
hated  these  as  having  been  established  by  kings  and  aristocrats  to 
enhance  their  own  importance  and  to  enslave  the  masses.  They 
proposed  to  sweep  these  things  all  aside  and  give  the  world  a 
fresh  start. 

A  new  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures,  known  as  the 
metric,'^  had  already  been  planned  by  the  National  Assembly; 
a  new  mode  of  reckoning  time  was  now  introduced.  The  months 
were  given  new  names,  names  expressive  of  the  character  oi  each. 
Each  month  was  divided  into  three  periods  of  ten  days  each, 
called  decades,  and  each  day  into  ten  parts.  The  tenth  day  of 
each  decade  took  the  place  of  the  old  Sabbath.  The  five  odd 
days  not  provided  for  in  the  arrangement  were  made  festival  days, 

768.  Attempt  to  abolish  Christianity.  The  old  calendar  hav- 
ing been  abolished,  the  Revolutionists  next  proceeded  to  abolish 
Christianity.  Some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  de- 
clared that  the  Revolution  should  not  rest  until  it  had  "dethroned 
the  King  of  Heaven  as  well  as  the  kings  of  earth."  They  per- 
suaded the  Bishop  of  Paris  to  abdicate  his  office,  and  his  example 
was  followed  by  many  of  the  clergy  throughout  the  countr>^ 

The  churches  of  Paris  and  of  other  cities  were  now  closed,  and 
the  treasures  of  their  altars  and  shrines  confiscated  to  the  state. 
The  images  of  the  Virgin  and  of  the  Christ  were  torn  down,  and 
the  busts  of  Marat  and  other  patriots  set  up  in  their  stead.  And 
as  the  emancipation  of  the  world  was  now  to  be  wrought  not  by 
the  Cross  but  by  the  guillotine,  that  instrument  took  the  place 
of  the  crucifix,  and  was  called  the  "Holy  Guillotine."  In  many 
places  all  visible  symbols  of  the  ancient  religion  were  destroyed ; 
all  emblems  of  hope  in  some  cemeteries  were  obliterated,  and  over 
their  gates  were  inscribed  the  words,  "Death  is  eternal  sleep." 

769.  Inauguration  of  the  Worship  of  Reason.  The  madness 
of  the  people  culminated  in  the  worship  of  Reason.  A  celebrated 
beauty,  personating  the  Goddess  of  Reason,  was  set  upon  the 
altar  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris  as  an  object  of  homage  and  worship. 

1  This  reform  was  a.  most  admirable  one  and  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  good 
outcomes  of  the  Revolution. 


534 


THE  FRENXH  REVOLUTION 


[§770 


The  example  of  Paris  was  followed  generally  throughout  France. 
Churches  were  converted  into  temples  of  the  new  worship.  The 
Sabbath  having  been  abolished,  the  services  of  the  temple  were 
held  only  upon  every  tenth  day.  On  that  day  the  mayor  or  some 
popular  leader  mounted  the  altar  and  harangued  the  people, 
dwelling  upon  the  news  of  the  moment,  the  triumphs  of  the  armies 
of  the  Republic,  the  glorious  achievements 
of  the  Revolution,  and  the  privilege  of  liv- 
ing in  an  era  when  one  was  oppressed 
neither  by  kings  on  earth  nor  by  a  King 
in  Heaven. 

770.  Fall  of  Hebert  and  Danton  (1794). 
During  the  progress  of  events  the  Jacobins 
had   become   divided   into  three   factions, 
headed    respectively    by    Danton,    Robes- 
pierre,   and    Hebert.     To   make   his   own 
power   supreme,    Robespierre   resolved    to 
crush  the  other  two  leaders.      Hebert  and 
his  party  were  the  lirst  to  fall,  Danton  and 
his    adherents    working    with    Robespierre 
to    bring    about    their    ruin.    Danton    and 
his  party   were  the  next   to  follow.    The 
last  words  of  Danton  to  the  executioner  were,  "Show  my  head 
to  the  people ;   they  do  not  see  the  like  every  day."    The  grim 
request  was  granted. 

Robespierre  was  now  supreme.  His  ambition  was  attained.  "He 
stood  alone  on  the  awful  eminence  of  the  Holy  Mountain."  But 
his  turn  was  soon  to  come. 

771.  Worship  of  the  Supreme  Being.  One  of  the  first  acts 
of  Robespierre  after  he  had  freed  himself  from  his  most  virulent 
enemies  was  to  give  France  a  new  religion  in  place  of  the  recently 
established  worship  of  Reason.  Robespierre  wished  to  sweep 
away  Ch-istianity  as  a  superstition,  but  he  would  stop  at  deism. 
He  did  not  believe  that  a  state  could  be  founded  on  atheism. 
"If  God  did  not  exist,"  he  declared,  "it  would  behoove  man 
to  invent  Him." 


Fig.  132.  RORESPIEKKF- 

(From  a  French  print) 


§  772]  THE  TERROR  AT  PARIS  535 

In  a  remarkable  address  delivered  before  the  Convention,  Robes- 
pierre eloquently  defended  the  doctrines  of  God  and  immortality, 
and  then  closed  his  speech  by  offering  for  adoption  this  decree : 
"(i)  The  French  people  recognize  the  existence  of  the  Supreme 
Being  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul;  (2)  they  recognize  that 
the  worship  most  worthy  of  the  Supreme  Being  is  the  practice  of 
the  duties  of  man ;  and  ( 3 )  they  put  in  the  first  rank  of  these 
duties  to  detest  bad  faith  and  tyranny,  to  punish  tyrants  and 
traitors,  to  rescue  the  unfortunate,  to  defend  the  oppressed,  to  do 
to  others  all  the  good  one  can,  and  to  be  unjust  toward  none." 
The  Convention  adopted  the  resolution  with  the  "utmost  enthu- 
siasm." The  churches  which  had  been  converted  into  temples 
of  the  Goddess  of  Reason  were  now  consecrated  to  the  new  worship 
of  the  Supreme  Being. 

772.  The  Culmination,  of  the  Terror  at  Paris.  At  the  same 
time  that  Robespierre  was  instituting  the  new  worship,  the  Great 
Committee  of  Public  Safety,  of  which  he  was  generally  regarded 
as  the  controlling  spirit,  was  ruling  France  by  a  terrorism  un- 
paralleled since  the  most  frightful  days  at  Rome.  The  prisons  of 
Paris  and  of  the  departments  were  filled  with  suspected  persons, 
until  two  hundred  thousand  prisoners  were  crowded  into  these 
republican  bastilles.  At  Paris  the  dungeons  were  emptied  of  their 
victims  and  room  made  for  fresh  ones  by  the  swift  processes  of  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  which  in  mockery  of  justice  caused  the 
prisoners  to  be  brought  before  its  bar  in  companies  of  ten  or  fifty 
or  more.  Rank  or  talent  was  an  inexpiable  crime.  "Were  you  not 
a  noble  ?  "  asked  the  president  of  the  tribunal  of  one  of  the  ac- 
cused. "Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "Enough;  another!"  was  the 
judge's  verdict.  And  so  on  through  the  long  list  each  day  brought 
before  the  court. 

The  scenes  about  the  guillotine  seem  mirrored  from  the  In- 
jerno  of  Dante.  Benches  were  arranged  around  the  scaffold  and 
rented  to  spectators,  like  seats  in  a  theater.  The  market  women 
of  Paris,  who  were  known  as  "the  Furies  of  the  Guillotine," 
busied  themselves  with  their  knitting  while  watching  the  changing 
scenes  oi  the  bloody  spectacle.    In   the   space   of   seven  weeks 


536  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [^77:^ 

(June  10 -July  27,  1794)  the  number  of  persons  guillotined  in 
Paris  was  thirteen  hundred  and  seventy-six, — an  average  of  over 
twenty-eight  a  day. 

773.  The  Fall  of  Robespierre  ;  Punishment  of  the  Terrorists. 
The  Reign  of  Terror  had  lasted  about  nine  months  when  a  re- 
action came.  The  successes  of  the  armies  of  the  Republic  and 
the  establishment  of  the  authority  of  the  Convention  throughout 
the  departments  caused  the  people  to  look  upon  the  wholesale 
executions  that  were  daily  taking  place  as  unnecessary  and  cruel. 
They  began  to  turn  with  horror  and  pity  from  the  scenes  of  the 
guillotine.  Robespierre  was  the  first  to  be  swept  away  by  the 
reaction.  The  Convention  denounced  him  and  his  adherents  as 
enemies  of  the  Republic.  He  was  arrested,  rescued  by  the  rabble 
of  Paris,  rearrested  and  straightway  sent  to  the  guillotine,  and 
along  with  him  several  of  his  friends  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
members  of  the  Commune  of  Paris. 

The  reaction  which  had  swept  away  Robespierre  and  his  asso- 
ciates continued  after  their  fall.  There  was  a  general  demand 
for  the  punishment  of  the  Terrorists.  The  clubs  of  the  Jacobins 
were  closed,  and  that  infamous  society  which  had  rallied  and 
directed  the  hideous  rabbles  of  the  great  cities  was  broken  up. 
The  Christian  worship  was  reestablished. 

774.  Effects  of  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  effect  of  the  Terror 
upon  France  was  just  what  the  Terrorists  had  aimed  to  produce. 
It  effectually  cowed  all  opposition  to  the  Revolution  at  home, 
thereby  preserving  the  unity  of  France  and  enabling  her  to  push 
the  foreign  foe  from  her  soil. 

Outside  of  France  the  effects  of  the  rule  by  terror  were  most 
unfavorable  to  the  true  cause  of  the  Revolutionists.  It  destroyed 
the  illusions  of  generous  souls,  like  Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  and 
Southey  in  England,  and  caused  among  the  earlier  sympathizers 
with  the  Revolutionists  a  great  revulsion  of  feeling.  From  being 
Liberals  men  became  Conservatives  and  determined  foes  of  all 
innovation  and  reform.  The  Revolution,  at  first  so  greatly  ac- 
claimed, was  discredited  in  the  eyes  of  its  best  friends.  It  became 
identified  in  men's  minds  with  atheism  and   terrorism,  and  to 


§  775]  BONAPARTE  DEFENDS  THE  CONVENTION      537 

the  present  hour  in  the  minds  of  many  the  French  Revolution 
suggests  nothing   save   foul  blasphemies  and   guillotine   horrors. 

775.  Bonaparte  defends  the  Convention  (October  5,  1795). 
Experience  had  shown  the  defects  of  the  revolutionary  govern- 
ment, particularly  in  that  it  united  both  legislative  and  executive 
power  in  the  same  hands.  The  Convention  now  set  about  fram- 
ing a  new  constitution,  which  vested  the  executive  power  in  a 
body  called  the  Directory,  consisting  of  five  persons.  It  also  pro- 
vided for  two  legislative  bodies,  known  as  the  Council  of  Five 
Hundred  and  the  Council  of  Ancients. 

Certain  features  of  the  new  constitution  displeased  the  Parisian 
mob.  The  sections  of  the  turbulent  capital  again  gathered  their 
hordes.  A  mob  of  forty  thousand  men  advanced  to  the  attack 
of  the  Tuileries,  where  the  Convention  was  sitting.  As  the  mob 
came  on  they  were  met  by  a  ''whiff  of  grapeshot,"  which  sent 
them  flying  back  in  wild  disorder.  The  man  who  trained  the 
guns  was  a  young  artillery  officer,  a  native  of  the  island  of 
Corsica, — Napoleon  Bonaparte.  The  Revolution  had  at  last 
brought  forth  a  man  of  genius  capable  of  controlling  and  directing 
its  tremendous  energies. 

V.  THE  DIRECTORY  (OCTOBER  27,  1795-NOVEMBER  9,  1799) 

776.  The  Republic  becomes  Aggressive.  Under  the  Directory 
the  Republic,  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  acting  mainly  on 
the  defensive,  very  soon  entered  upon  an  aggressive  policy.  The 
Revolution  having  accomplished  its  work  in  France,  having  there 
put  an  end  to  despotism  and  abolished  class  privilege,  now  set 
itself  about  fulfilling  its  early  promise  of  giving  liberty  to  all 
peoples  (sect.  760). 

Had  not  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  in  all  the  neigh- 
boring countries  been  prepared  to  welcome  the  new  order  of 
things,  the  Revolution  could  never  have  spread  itself  as  widely  as 
it  did.  But  everywhere  irrepressible  longings  for  equality  and 
freedom,  born  of  long  oppression,  were  stirring  the  souls  of  men. 
The   French  armies  were   everywhere   welcomed   by   the   people 


538  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [i  777 

as  deliverers.  Thus  was  France  enabled  to  surround  herself  with 
a  girdle  of  commonwealths.  She  conquered  Europe  not  by  her 
armies  but  by  her  ideas.  "An  invasion  of  armies,"  says  Victor 
Hugo,  "can  be  resisted:  an  invasion  of  ideas  cannot  be  resisted." 
The  republics  established  were,  it  is  true,  short-lived;  for  the 
times  were  not  yet  ripe  for  the  complete  triumph  of  democratic 
ideas.  But  a  great  gain  for  freedom  was  made.  The  reestablished 
monarchies,  as  we  shall  see  later,  never  dared  to  make  themselves 
as  despotic  as  those  which  the  Revolution  had  overturned. 

777.  The  Plans  of  the  Directory.  Austria  and  England  were 
the  only  formidable  powers  that  still  persisted  in  their  hostility 
to  the  Republic.  The  Directors  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive 
blow  at  the  first  of  these  implacable  foes.  To  carry  out  their 
design  two  large  armies,  numbering  about  seventy  thousand 
each,  were  mustered  upon  the  Middle  Rhine  and  intrusted  to 
the  command  of  the  two  young  and  energetic  generals,  Moreau 
and  Jourdan,  who  were  to  make  a  direct  invasion  of  Germany. 
A  third  army,  numbering  about  forty-two  thousand  men,  was 
assembled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nice,  in  southeastern  France, 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Bonaparte,  to  whom  was  assigned  the 
work  of  driving  the  Austrians  out  of  Italy. 

778.  Bonaparte's  Italian  Campaign  (1796-1797).  Straight- 
way upon  receiving  his  command,  Bonaparte,  now  in  his  twenty- 
seventh  year,  animated  by  visions  of  military  glory  to  be  gathered 
on  the  fields  of  Italy,  hastened  to  join  his  army  at  Nice.  He 
at  once  aroused  all  the  latent  enthusiasm  of  the  soldiers  by  one 
of  those  short,  stirring  addresses  for  which  he  afterwards  became 
so  famous.  "Soldiers,"  said  he,  "you  are  badly  fed  and  almost 
naked.  ...  I  have  come  to  lead  you  into  the  most  fertile  fields 
of  the  world  ;  there  you  will  find  large  cities,  rich  provinces,  honor, 
glory,  and  wealth.    Soldiers  of  Italy,  will  you  fail  in  courage?" 

If  this  address  be  placed  alongside  the  decree  of  the  Conven- 
tion offering  the  aid  of  France  to  all  peoples  desiring  freedom 
(sect.  760),  it  will  be  realized  with  how  alien  a  spirit  Bonaparte 
here  inspires  the  armies  of  republican  France.  He  represents 
Italy  to  the  imagination  of  the  soldiers  of  the  French  Republic 


§  119^  TREATY  OF  CAMPO  FORMIO  539 

merely  as  a  country  of  rich  cities  to  be  despoiled,  as  a  land 
whence  France  may  draw  unlimited  tribute.  The  address  marks 
the  beginning  of  that  transformation  which  in  a  few  years  changed 
the  liberating  armies  of  France  into  the  scourge  of  Europe. 

Before  the  mountain  roads  were  yet  free  from  snow  Bonaparte 
set  in  motion  his  army,  which  he  had  assembled  on  the  coast 
near  Genoa,  and  suddenly  forced  the  passage  of  the  mountains 
at  the  juncture  of  the  Apennines  and  the  Maritime  Alps.  Now 
followed  a  most  astonishing  series  of  French  victories  over  the 
Austrians  and  their  allies.  As  a  result  of  the  campaign  a  con- 
siderable part  of  northern  Italy  was  formed  into  a  commonwealth 
under  the  name  of  the  Cisalpine  Republic.  Genoa  was  also  trans- 
formed into  the  Ligurian  Republic. 

779.  Treaty  of  Campo  Formio  (1797).  While  Bonaparte  had 
been  gaining  his  surprising  victories  in  Italy,  Moreau  and  Jourdan 
had  been  meeting  with  severe  reverses  in  Germany.  Bonaparte, 
having  effected  the  work  assigned  to  the  army  of  Italy,  now  climbed 
the  Eastern  Alps  and  marched  toward  Vienna.  The  near  approach 
of  the  French  to  his  capital  induced  the  Emperor  Francis  II  to 
listen  to  proposals  of  peace.  An  armistice  was  agreed  upon,  and 
later  the  important  Trieaty  of  Campo  Formio  was  arranged,  by 
the  terms  of  which  Austria  ceded  her  Belgian  provinces  to  the 
French  Republic,  receiving  as  an  offset  the  Venetian  dominions, 
save  the  Ionian  Islands,  which  were  annexed  to  the  French  Re- 
public. Bonaparte  was  already  dazzled  by  the  vision  of  a  French 
empire  in  the  Orient.  The  Grecian  isles  were  to  constitute  a 
link  in  the  chain  which  should  bind  France  to  her  prospective 
Eastern  dependencies. 

With  the  treaty  arranged,  Bonaparte  soon  set  out  for  Paris, 
where  was  accorded  him  a  triumph  and  ovation  such  as  Europe 
had  not  seen  since  the  days  of  the  old  Roman  conquerors. 

780.  Bonaparte's  Campaign  in  Egypt  (1798-1799).  The  Direc- 
tors had  received  Bonaparte  with  apparent  enthusiasm  ;  but  at 
this  very  moment  they  were  disquieted  b}-  fears  lest  their  gen- 
eral's ambition  might  lead  him  to  play  the  part  of  a  second  Caesar. 
They  resolved  to  engage  him  in  an  enterprise  which  would  take 


540  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§781 

him  out  of  France.  This  undertaking  was  an  attack  upon  Eng- 
land, which  they  were  then  meditating.  Bonaparte  opposed  the 
plan  of  a  descent  upon  the  island  as  impracticable,  but  proposed 
the  conquest  of  Egypt.  This  would  enable  France  to  control  the 
trade  of  the  East  and  cut  England  off  from  her  East  India  pos- 
sessions. The  Directors  assented  to  the  plan,  and  with  feelings  of 
relief  saw  Bonaparte  embark  from  the  port  of  Toulon  to  carry 
out  the  enterprise. 

Evading  the  vigilance  of  the  British  fleet  that  was  patrolling  the 
Mediterranean,  Bonaparte  landed  in  Egypt.  Within  sight  of  the 
Pyramids  the  French  army  was  checked  in  its  march  by  a  deter- 
mined stand  of  the  renowned  Mameluke  cavalry.  The  battle  that 
followed  is  known  in  history  as  the  "battle  of  the  Pyramids." 
Bonaparte  gained  a  victory  that  opened  the  way  for  his  advance 
to  Cairo.  He  had  barely  entered  that  city  before  the  startling 
intelligence  was  borne  to  him  that  his  fleet  had  been  destroyed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  by  the  English  admiral  Nelson. 

In  the  spring  of  1799  the  Ottoman  Porte  having  sent  a  force 
to  retake  Egypt,  Bonaparte  led  his  army  into  Syria  to  fight 
the  Turks  there.  He  finally  invested  Acre.  The  Turks  were 
assisted  in  the  defense  of  this  place  by  the  distinguished  English 
commodore,  Sir  Sidney  Smith.  All  Bonaparte's  efforts  to  carry  the 
place  by  storm  were  in  vain.  "I  missed  my  destiny  at  Acre," 
said  Bonaparte  afterwards.  With  the  ports  of  Syria  secured  he 
might  have  imitated  Alexander  and  led  his  soldiers  to  the  foot  of 
the  Himalayas.  Bitterly  disappointed,  Bonaparte  abandoned  the 
siege  of  Acre  and  led  his  army  back  into  Egypt. 

781.  Establishment  of  the  Tiberine,  the  Helvetic,  and  the 
Parthenopean  Republics  (1798-1799).  We  must  turn  now  to 
view  affairs  in  Europe.  The  year  1798  was  a  favorable  one  for 
the  republican  cause  represented  by  the  Revolution.  During  that 
year  and  the  opening  month  of  the  following  one  the  French 
set  up  three  new  republics.  First,  they  incited  an  insurrection  at 
Rome,  made  a  prisoner  of  the  Pope,  and  proclaimed  the  Roman 
or  Tiberine  Republic.  Then,  intervening  in  a  revolution  in  Swit- 
zerland, they  invaded  the  Swiss  cantons  and  united  them  into  a 


§  782]  THE  REACTION  541 

commonwealth  under  the  name  of  the  Helvetic  Republic.  A  little 
later  the  French  troops  drove  the  king  of  Naples  out  of  Italy 
to  Sicily  and  transformed  his  peninsular  domains  into  the  Parthe- 
nopean  Republic.  Thus  were  three  new  republics  added  to  the 
commonwealths  which  the  Revolution  had  previously  created. 

782.  The  Reaction;  Bonaparte  overthrov^s  the  Directory 
(18th  and  19th  Brumaire,  1799).  Much  of  this  work  was 
quickly  undone.  Encouraged  by  the  victory  of  Nelson  over  the 
French  fleet  in  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  and  alarmed  at  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  government  of  the  Directory,  the  leading  powers  of 
Europe,  now  including  the  Tsar  of  Russia,  who  was  incensed 
against  the  French  especially  for  their  intrusion  into  the  Orient, 
which  the  Russian  rulers  had  ever  regarded  as  their  own  particular 
sphere  of  influence,  had  formed  a  new  coalition  against  France. 

The  war  began  early  in  1799  and  was  waged  at  one  and  the 
same  time  in  Italy,  in  Switzerland,  and  in  Holland.  In  the  south 
the  campaign  was  extremely  disastrous  to  the  French.  They  were 
driven  out  of  Italy  and  were  barely  able  to  keep  the  allies  off 
the  soil  of  France.  The  Cisalpine,  Tiberine,  and  Parthenopean 
republics  were  abolished. 

These  reverses  suffered  by  the  French  armies  in  Italy,  though 
in  other  quarters  they  had  been  successful,  caused  the  Direc- 
tory to  fall  into  great  disfavor.  They  were  charged  with  having 
through  jealousy  exiled  Bonaparte,  the  only  man  who  could  save 
the  Republic.    Confusion  and  division  prevailed  everywhere. 

News  of  the  desperate  state  of  affairs  at  home  reached  Bona- 
parte in  Egypt,  just  after  his  return  from  Syria.  He  instantly 
formed  a  bold  resolve.  Confiding  the  command  of  the  army  in 
Eg3'pt  to  Kleber,  he  set  sail  for  France,  disclosing  his  designs  in 
the  significant  words,  "The  reign  of  the  lawyers  is  ov-er." 

Bonaparte  was  welcomed  in  France  with  the  wildest  enthusi- 
asm. A  great  majority  of  the  people  felt  instinctively  that  the 
emergency  demanded  a  dictator.  Some  of  the  Directors  joined 
with  Napoleon  in  a  plot  to  overthrow  the  government.  Meeting 
with  opposition  in  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred,  Napoleon  with 
a  body  of  grenadiers  drove  the  deputies  from  their  chamber. 


542  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  [§782 

The  French  Revolution  had  at  last  brought  forth  its  Cromwell. 

Napoleon  was  master  of  France.  The  first  French  Republic  was 
at  an  end,  and  what  is  distinctively  called  the  French  Revolution 
was  over.  Now  commences  the  history  of  the  Consulate  and  the 
First  Empire, —  the  story  of  that  surprising  career  the  sun  of 
which  rose  so  brightly  at  Austerlitz  and  set  forever  at  Waterloo. 

References.  For  the  antecedents  and  causes  of  the  Revolution:  Taine, 
H.  A.,  The  Ancient  Kcginie,  and  Tocquevii.le,  Alexis  de,  The  Old  Rigime 
and  the  Revolution.  Buckle,  II.  T.,  I/isioty  of  Ci-'ilization  in  England,  vol.  i, 
chaps,  xii-xiv  (gives  an  unsurpassed  presentation  of  the  philosophical  and 
literary  movement  of  the  eighteenth  century).  Lowell,  E.  J.,  The  Eve  of  the 
Revolution  (a  series  of  scholarly  and  suggestive  studies  of  the  various  phases 
of  French  life  and  thought  during  the  century  preceding  the  calling  of  the 
States-Cieneral). 

Short  histories  :  Bourne,  H.  E.,  The  Revolutiotiary  Period  in  Europe,  chaps, 
i-xvi ;  Si'ErnENs,  II.  Morse,  Revolutionary  Eliirope,  ij8g-i8i^,  chaps,  i-vi. 
Other  excellent  short  accounts  are  Mokkls',  M.allet'-s,  Mathews',  and 
Mignet's. 

Extended  histories:  Stei'HENS,  H.  Morse,  A  IHstoiy  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, 2  vols.;  Taine,  H.  A.,  The  French-  Rerwlution,  3  vols.;  The  Cambridge- 
Modem  History,  vol.  viii  ;  and  CarLVLE,  T.,  The  French  Revolution.  (The 
last  is  Carlyle's  masterpiece ;  "  a  prose  epic  "  and  "  pictures  in  the  French 
Revolution  "  are  good  characterizations  of  it.) 

Biographies:  Morley,  J.,  Rousseau,  2  vols.,  and  Voltaire;  Willert,  P.  Y ., 
Mirabeau  ;  I.AMARTINE,  A.,  History  of  the  Girondists,  3  vols. ;  Tarhell,  I.  M., 
Madame  Roland. 


CHAPTER  LXVII 

THE  CONSULATE  AND  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE 

(1799-1815) 

I.  THE  CONSULATE  (1799-1804) 

783.  The  Veiled  Military  Dictatorship.  After  the  overthrow 
of  the  government  of  the  Directory,  a  new  constitution — the 
fourth  since  the  year  1789 — was  prepared  and,  having  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  approval  of  the  people,  was  accepted  by  a  vote  of 
over  three  millions  to  less  than  two  thousand.  This  new  instru- 
ment vested  the  executive  power  in  three  Consuls,  nominated  for 
a  term  of  ten  years,  the  first  of  whom  really  exercised  all  the 
authority  of  the  board,  the  remaining  two  members  being  simply 
his  counselors.    Bonaparte,  of  course,  became  the  First  Consul. 

The  other  functions  of  the  government  were  carried  on  by  a 
Council  of  State,  a  Tribunate,  a  Legislature,  and  a  Senate.  But 
the  members  of  all  these  bodies  were  appointed  either  directly 
or  indirectly  by  the  Consuls,  so  that  the  entire  government  was 
actually  in  their  hands,  or  rather  in  the  hands  of  the  First  Con- 
sul. France  was  still  called  a  republic,  but  it  was  such  a  republic 
■as  Rome  was  under  Augustus.  The  republican  names  and  forms 
merely  veiled  a  government  as  absolute  and  personal  as  that  of 
Louis  XIV, —  in  a  word,  a  military  dictatorship. 

784.  Wars  of  the  First  Consul.  Bonaparte  inherited  from  the 
Directory  war  with  Austria  and  England.  Offers  of  peace  to  both 
having  been  rejected,  Bonaparte  mustered  his  armies.  Decisive 
defeats  of  the  Austrians  upon  the  renowned  field  of  iNIarengo,  in 
Italy,  and  at  Hohenlinden,  in  Bavaria,  constrained  Emperor 
Francis  II  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace  at  Luneville  (1801).  The 
most  important  part  of  the  treaty  was  that  which  provided  for  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Germanic  body.    But  as  this  reorganization 

543 


544 


THE  CONSULATE 


[§78S 


of  Central  Europe  was  not  completed  until  after  the  battle  of 
Austerlitz,  we  shall  defer  explanation  of  it  until  we  reach  that 
important  event  (sect.  792).  The  year  following  the  peace  between 
France  and  Austria,  England  signed  the  Peace  of  Amiens. 

785.  Bonaparte  as  an  Enlightened  Despot.  Peace  with  Aus- 
tria and  England  left  Bonaparte  free  to  devote  his  amazing  ener- 
gies to  the  reform  and 
improvement  of  the  inter- 
nal affairs  of  France.  It 
was  his  work  here  which 
constitutes  his  true  title 
to  fame.  We  shall  best 
understand  Bonaparte  in 
his  role  as  a  reformer,  and 
best  determine  his  place 
in  history,  if  we  regard 
him  as  the  successor  of 
the  Benevolent  Despots  of 
theeighteenth century.  His 
mission  was  to  carry  on 
and  perfect  their  work  and 
to  consummate  the  re- 
forms and  to  make  secure 
the  social  results  of  the 
Revolution. 
To  close  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  France  by  the  Revolution 
was  one  of  the  first  aims  of  Bonaparte.  The  deepest  wound  had 
been  given  by  the  Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy  (sect.  749). 
This  had  divided  the  nation  into  two  bitterly  opposed  parties. 
Moreover,  since  1794  the  government  had  ceased  to  pay  the 
salaries  of  the  priests,  with  the  result  that  many  communes  were 
wholly  without  regular  religious  services.  ■  To  remedy  this  state 
of  things  Bonaparte  entered  into  an  agreement,  known  as  the 
Concordat,  with  the  Holy  See  (1801).  The  First  Consul  was  to 
nominate  archbishops  and  bishops  impartially  from  both  parties, 
that  is,  the  party   which   had  acquiesced   in   the  revolutionary 


Fig.  133.  Naholkox  Bo.N'APARTE.  (After 
the  medallion  by  Isabey) 


§  785]  BOXAPARTE  AS  AN  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOT    545 

programme  and  the  party  which  had  opposed  it,  and  the  state  was 
again  to  assume  as  a  public  charge  the  salaries  of  the  clergy.^ 
The  Pope  was  to  be  recognized  as  the  head  of  the  French  Church 
and  was  to  confirm  in  their  ecclesiastical  offices  the  persons 
nominated  by  the  government.  The  Concordat  closed  the  great 
breach  which  the  Revolution  had  opened  in  the  French  Church, 
and  attached  the  Catholics  to  the  government  of  the  First  Consul, 
who  was  acclaimed  as  ''the  new  Constantine." 

Not  less  successful  was  Bonaparte  in  his  efforts  to  restore  the 
material  interests  of  the  country,  which  had  suffered  neglect  during 
the  Revolution,  He  repaired  and  constructed  roads  and  bridges, 
dug  canals,  and  improved  the  seaports  of  the  country.  The  great 
military  roads  which  he  caused  to  be  constructed  over  the  Alps 
are  marvels  of  engineering  skill,  and  served  as  a  chief  means  of 
communication  between  Italy  and  the  north  of  Europe  until  the 
mountains  were  pierced  with  tunnels. 

The  public  buildings  and  monuments  of  France  had  fallen 
into  decay.  Bonaparte  restored  the  old  and  built  new  ones. 
He  embellished  Paris  and  the  other  chief  cities  of  France  with 
public  edifices  and  memorial  monuments  of  every  description. 
Many  of  these  works  are  the  pride  of  France  today. 

But  the  most  noteworthy  of  the  works  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
either  as  First  Consul  or  as  Emperor,  was  the  compilation  of 
what  is  known  as  the  ''Civil  Code,"  or  "Code  Napoleon,"  which 
has  caused  his  name  to  be  joined  wnth  that  of  Justinian  as  one  of 
the  great  lawgivers  of  history.  Almost  immediately  after  coming 
to  power  he  appointed  a  commission  of  five  eminent  jurists  to  take 
up  this  work,  which  had  been  begun  by  the  Constituent  Assembly 
and  the  Convention.  These  experts  were  busied  with  the  labor 
for  about  four  years. 

The  Code  was  made  up  of  the  ancient  customs  of  France,  of 
Roman  law  maxims,  and  particularly  of  the  principles  and  legisla- 
tion of  the  Revolution.    This  great  mass  of  material  was  condensed 

1  The  salaries  of  all  the  French  clergy,  including  Protestant  ministers  and  Jewish 
rabbis,  were  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury.  This  arrangement  held  good  down  to  the 
year  1905,  when  the  Concordat  was  annulled  with  a  complete  separation  of  Church  and 
State  (sect.  S22). 


546  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [§  786 

and  revised  in  some  such  way  as  the  jurists  of  the  Emperor 
Justinian  handled  the  accumulated  mass  of  law  material — old 
and  new,  pagan  and  Christian — of  their  time,  in  the  creation  of 
the  celebrated  Corpus  Juris  Civilis  (sect.  346). 

The  influence  of  the  Civil  Code  upon  the  development  of 
liberalism  in  western  Europe  was  most  salutary.  It  secured 
the  work  of  the  Revolution.  It  swept  away  the  old  oppressive 
customs  and  laws  that  were  an  inheritance  from  the  feudal  ages. 
It  recognized  the  equality  of  noble  and  peasant  in  the  eye  of  the 
law.  Either  its  principles  or  its  direct  provisions  were  soon  intro- 
duced into  half  of  the  countries  of  Europe. 

786.  Bonaparte  becomes  Consul  for  Life  (1802).  Through 
the  Senate  and  the  Council  of  State  it  was  now  proposed  to  the 
French  people  that  Bonaparte  should  be  made  Consul  for  life, 
in  order  that  his  magnificent  projects  of  restoration  and  reform 
might  be  pursued  without  interruption.  With  almost  a  single 
voice  the  people  approved  the  proposal.  Thus  did  the  First 
Consul  move  a  step  nearer  the  imperial  throne. 


II.  THE  NAPOLEOXIC  EMPIRE;  THE  WAR  OF 
LIBERATION   (1804-1815) 

787.  Napoleon  proclaimed  Emperor  (1804).  A  conspiracy 
against  the  life  of  the  First  Consul  and  the  increased  activity  of 
his  enemies  resulted  in  a  movement  to  increase  his  power  and  to 
insure  his  safety  and  the  stability  of  his  government  by  placing 
him  upon  a  throne.  Napoleon,  while  seeming  to  resign  himself 
to  the  popular  movement,  really  incited  and  directed  it.  A  decree 
of  the  Senate  conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the 
French,  having  been  submitted  to  the  people  for  approval,  was 
ratified  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote.  The  coronation  took  place 
in  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris,  Pope  Pius  VII  having 
been  induced  to  come  from  Rome  to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies.^ 

1  From  this  time  on  Bonaparte,  imitating  a  royal  custom,  used  only  his  first  name, 
Napoleon,  and  it  is  by  this  name,  which  was  destined  to  fill  such  a  great  place  in  history, 
that  we  shall  hereafter  know  him. 


§  788]     REPUBLICS  CHANGED  INTO  KINGDOMS        547 

788.  The  Republics  created  by  the  Revolution  are  changed 
into  Kingdoms.  Within  two  years  from  the  time  that  the  French 
government  assumed  an  imperial  form,  three  of  the  surrounding 
republics  raised  up  by  the  revolutionary  ideas  and  armies  of 
France  had  been  transformed  into  states  with  monarchical  gov- 
ernments dependent  upon  the  French  empire  or  had  been  incor- 
porated with  France.  In  a  word,  all  these  states  now  became 
practically  the  fiefs  of  Napoleon's  empire,  the  provinces  and 
dependencies  of  a  new  Rome. 

Thus  the  Cisalpine  or  Italian  Republic  was  changed  into  a 
kingdom,  and  Napoleon,  crowning  himself  at  Milan  with  the 
"Iron  Crown"  of  the  Lombards,^  assumed  the  government  of  the 
state,  with  the  title  of  King  of  Italy.  A  little  later  in  the  same 
year  the  Emperor  incorporated  the  Ligurian  Republic  with  the 
French  empire.  Then  he  remodeled  the  Batavian  Republic  into 
the  kingdom  of  Holland  and  conferred  the  crown  upon  his  favorite 
brother  Louis. 

Thus  was  the  political  work  of  the  Revolution  undone.  Political 
liberty  was  taken  away.  "I  set  it  aside,"  said  Napoleon,  "when 
it  obstructed  my  road."    Civil  equality  was  left. 

789.  The  Empire  and  the  Old  Monarchies.  It  will  not  be 
supposed  that  the  states  of  Europe  were  looking  quietly  on  while 
all  this  was  being  done.  The  colossal  power  which  the  soldier  of 
fortune  was  building  up  was  a  menace  to  all  Europe.  The  Empire 
was  more  dreaded  than  the  Rej)ublic,  because  it  was  a  military 
despotism,  and  as  such  was  an  instrument  of  irresistible  power  in 
the  hands  of  a  man  of  such  genius  and  resources  as  Napoleon. 
Coalition  after  coalition,  of  which  England  was  "the  paymaster," 
was  formed  by  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  against  the  "usurper," 
with  the  object  at  first  of  pushing  France  back  within  her  original 
boundaries,  and  then  later  of  deposing  Napoleon  as  the  disturber 
of  the  peace  of  Europe  and  the  oj^pressor  of  the  nations.  From 
the  coronation  of  Napoleon  in  1804  until  his  final  downfall  in 
181 5  the  tremendous  struggle  went  on  almost  without  intermission. 

1  Napoleon  here  imitated  Charlemagne.  He  said,  "  I  am  Charlemap^ne,  for  like 
Charlemagne  I  unite  the  crowns  of  France  and  Lombardy."   Compare  sect.  402. 


548  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  L§  790 

It  was  the  war  of  the  giants.  Europe  was  shaken  from  end  to 
end  with  such  armies  as  the  world  had  not  seen  since  the  days 
of  Xerxes.  Napoleon  performed  the  miracles  of  genius.  His 
brilliant  achievements  still  dazzle,  while  they  amaze,  the  world. 

To  relate  in  detail  Napoleon's  campaigns  from  Austerlitz  to 
Waterloo  would  require  the  space  of  volumes.  We  shall  simply 
indicate  in  a  few  brief  paragraphs  the  successive  steps  by  which 
he  mounted  to  the  highest  pitch  of  power  and  fame,  and  then 
trace  hurriedly  the  decline  and  fall  of  his  astonishing  fortunes. 

790.  Napoleon's  Preparations  for  invading  England;  the 
Sale  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States ;  the  Camp  at  Boulogne 
(1803-1805).  Even  before  Napoleon's  coronation,  war  had  been 
renewed  between  France  and  England.  One  of  Napoleon's  first 
acts  of  preparation  for  this  struggle  was  the  sale  (in  1803)  to 
the  United  States,  for  fifteen  million  dollars,  of  the  territory  of 
Louisiana,  which  he  had  recently  acquired  from  Spain.  He 
was  impelled  to  do  this  because  his  inferiority  at  sea  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  defend  such  remote  possessions. 

The  sale  and  transfer  of  this  immense  region  of  boundless 
resources  was  one  of  the  most  important  transactions  in  history. 
Napoleon  seems  to  have  realized  its  significance  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  great  American  republic.  "I  have  given  England  a 
rival,"  he  said,  "which  sooner  or  later  will  humble  her  pride." 

As  early  as  1803  Napoleon  had  begun  to  mass  a  great  army  at 
Boulogne,  on  the  English  Channel,  and  to  build  an  immense 
number  of  flat-bottomed  boats  preparatory  to  an  invasion  of 
England.  ''Carthage  must  be  destroyed,"  was  the  menacing  and 
persistent  cry  of  the  French  press.  "Masters  of  the  Channel  for 
six  hours,"  said  Napoleon,  "and  we  are  masters  of  the  world." 
To  arouse  patriotic  enthusiasm  by  historic  memories,  he  caused  the 
Bayeux  Tapestry,  the  famous  memorial  of  the  Norman  conquest 
of  England,  to  be  brought  to  Paris. 

Napoleon's  menacing  preparations  produced  throughout  Eng- 
land an  alarm  unequaled  by  anything  the  English  people  had  expe- 
rienced since  the  days  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  The  younger  Pitt, 
at  this  time  head  of   the  English  government,  was  untiring  in 


§  791]  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  AUSTRIA  549 

fostering  a  new  coalition  of  the  powers  against  France.  Early  in 
the  year  1805  England  and  Russia  formed  an  alliance  which  was 
intended  to  constitute  the  nucleus  of  a  general  European  league. 
Austria  and  other  states  soon  joined  the  coalition. 

791.  Campaign  against  Austria:  Austerlitz  (1805).  Intelli- 
gence reaching  Napoleon  that  both  the  Austrian  and  the  Russian 
armies  were  on  the  move,  he  suddenly  broke  up  the  camp  at  Bou- 
logne, flung  his  Grand  Army,  as  it  was  called,  across  the  Rhine, 
outmaneuvered  and  captured  a  great  Austrian  army  at  Ulm, 
and  then  marched  in  triumph  through  Vienna  to  the  field  of 
Austerlitz  beyond,  where  he  gained  one  of  his  most  memorable 
victories  over  the  combined  armies  of  Austria  and  Russia,  number- 
ing more  than  eighty  thousand  men.  Austria  was  now  shorn  of 
large  tracts  of  her  dominions,  including  Venetia,  which  Napoleon 
added  to  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 

792.  The  Reorganization  of  Germany;  End  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire  (isoe).  That  reconstruction  of  the  Germanic 
body  which  Napoleon  had  begun  after  the  battles  of  Marengo  and 
Hohenlinden  (sect.  784)  was  now  in  its  large  outlines  completed. 
Napoleon  ultimately  reduced  the  three  hundred  and  more  states 
comprising  the  Germanic  system  to  about  forty.  It  was  the 
ecclesiastical  states,  the  free  imperial  cities,  and  the  petty  states 
of  the  minor  princes  which  suffered  extinction,  their  lands  being 
bestowed  upon  the  princes  of  the  states  selected  for  survival. 
Among  the  rulers  especially  favored  at  this  time  were  the  Elector 
of  Bavaria  and  the  Duke  of  WUrtemberg,  both  of  whom  were  made 
kings  and  given  enough  territory  to  enable  them  to  maintain 
becomingly  this  new  dignity.  IMarriage  alliances  bound  them  to 
the  family  of  Napoleon. 

These  favored  states,  together  with  others, — sixteen  in  all, — 
now  declared  themselves  independent  of  the  old  Holy  Roman 
Empire,  and  were  formed  into  a  league  called  the  Confedera- 
tion of  the  Rhine,  with  Napoleon  as  Protector.  Emperor  Francis 
II,  recognizing  that  his  office  was  virtually  abolished,  now  laid 
down  the  imperial  crown,  and  henceforth  used  as  his  highest  title 
Francis  I,  Emperor  oj  Austria. 


5 so  THE  XAPOLEOXIC  EMPIRE  [§  793 

Thus  did  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  come  to  an  end,  after 
having  maintained  an  existence,  since  its  revival  under  Charle- 
magne, of  almost  exactly  one  thousand  years.  Reckoning  from  its 
establishment  by  Caesar  Augustus,  it  had  lasted  over  eighteen 
hundred  years,  thus  being  one  of  the  longest-lived  of  human 
institutions, —  if  mere  existence  may  be  reckoned  as  life. 

793.  Trafalgar  (isos).  Napoleon's  brilliant  victories  in  Ger- 
many were  clouded  by  an  irretrievable  disaster  to  his  fleet,  which 
occurred  on  the  day  following  the  surrender  of  the  Austrians  at 
Ulm.  Lord  Nelson  having  met,  near  Cape  Trafalgar  on  the  coast 
of  Spain,  the  combined  French  and  Spanish  fleets, — Spain  was 
at  this  time  Napoleon's  ally, —  almost  completely  destroyed  the 
combined  armaments.  The  gallant  English  admiral  fell  at  the 
moment  of  victory. 

This  decisive  battle  gave  England  the  control  of  the  sea  and 
relieved  her  from  all  danger  of  a  French  invasion.  Even  the 
''wet  ditch,"  as  Napoleon  was  wont  contemptuously  to  call  the 
English  Channel,  was  henceforth  an  impassable  gulf  to  his  ambi- 
tion. He  might  rule  the  Continent,  but  the  sovereignty  of  the 
ocean  and  its  islands  was  denied  him. 

794.  Campaign  against  Prussia:  Jena  and  Auerstadt  (isoe). 
Prussia  was  the  next  state  after  Austria  to  feel  the  weight  of 
Napoleon's  hand.  King  Frederick  William  III,  goaded  by  insuffer- 
able insult,  imprudently  threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  victor  of 
Austerlitz.  Moving  with  his  usual  swiftness,  Napoleon  over- 
whelmed the  Prussian  armies  in  the  battles  of  Jena  and  Auerstadt, 
which  were  both  fought  on  the  same  day.  The  greater  part 
of  Prussia  was  now  quickly  overrun  by  the  French.  The  capital, 
Berlin,  was  entered  by  them  in  triumph.  The  sword  of  the  great 
Frederick,  the  famous  car  of  victory  over  the  Brandenburg  Gate, 
together  with  many  treasures  stolen  from  the  museums  and  art 
galleries  of  the  city,  were  carried  as  trophies  to  Paris. 

795.  Campaigns  against  the  Russians;  Eylau  and  Friedland 
(i807).  The  Russian  army,  which  the  Tsar  Alexander  had  sent 
to  the  aid  of  Frederick  William,  was  still  in  the  field  against 
Napoleon  in  the  Prussian  territories  east  of  the  Vistula. 


§  796]  THE  TREATY  OF  TILSIT  551 

Early  in  the  year  1807  Napoleon  attacked,  on  a  stormy  winter 
day,  the  Russian  forces  at  Eylau.  The  battle  was  sanguinary  and 
indecisive,  each  army,  it  is  estimated,  leaving  over  thirty  thousand 
dead  and  wounded  on  the  snow.  During  the  summer  campaign 
of  the  same  year  Napoleon  again  engaged  the  Russians  in  the 
terrible  battle  of  Friedland  and  completely  overwhelmed  them. 
The  Tsar  was  constrained  to  sue  for  peace. 

796.  The  Treaty  of  Tilsit  (1807);  the  Partition  of  the 
World.  Napoleon  arranged  a  series  of  interviews  with  the  Tsar 
Alexander  at  the  Prussian  town  of  Tilsit.  The  first  of  the  meet- 
ings took  place  on  a  raft  moored  midway  in  the  Niemen,  the 
frontier  river  of  Russia. 

These  interviews  between  Napoleon  and  Alexander  mark  one 
of  the  most  dramatic  situations  in  European  history.  The  old 
order  of  things  had  been  destroyed  and  a  new  order  of  things  was 
being  projected.  The  subject  of  converse  of  the  two  emperors 
was  nothing  less  than  the  partition  of  the  world  between  them. 
"Napoleon  spread  before  the  eyes  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia  his 
favorite  conception  of  the  reestablishm.ent  of  the  old  empires  of 
the  East  and  the  West.  They  were  to  be  faithful  allies.  France 
was  to  be  the  supreme  power  over  the  Latin  races  and  in  the 
center  of  Europe;  Russia  was  to  represent  the  Greek  Empire 
and  to  expand  into  Asia.  .  .  .  The  one  enemy  to  be  feared  and 
crushed,  according  to  Napoleon,  was  England."^ 

Thus  the  modern  world  was  to  be  made  over  on  the  old  Romano- 
Byzantine  model.  But  there  were  difficulties  in  remaking  the  map 
of  central  Europe.  Particularly  in  regard  to  the  treatment  and 
disposition  of  the  old  Polish  territories  and  Prussia  did  the  interests 
of  the  two  emperors  clash.  It  would  have  been  to  the  advantage 
of  Napoleon  to  restore  the  dismembered  Polish  nation,  but  he 
could  not  do  this  without  alienating  the  Tsar  Alexander;  so  he 
merely  organized  the  greater  part  of  Prussian  Poland  into  what 
he  named  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  and  bestowed  it  upon 
the  vassal  king  of  Saxony .'- 

1  Stephens,  Rt-vohitionary  F.ttrofie,  lySq-rSrs.  P-  240. 

2  Napoleon  had  made  the  Elector  of  Saxony  a  king  just  after  the  battle  of  Jena. 


552  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [§  797 

Thus  were  the  hopes  of  the  Polish  patriots  sacrificed  upon  the 
altar  of  Napoleon's  imperial  ambitions.  Here  was  a  nation  of 
fifteen  million  souls  which  had  been  partitioned  by  brigand  kings 
like  a  herd  of  cattle.  The  patriot  Poles,  who  with  pathetic  devo- 
tion had  followed  Napoleon  to  every  battlefield  of  the  Consulate 
and  the  Empire,  looked  to  him  to  unite  and  restore  their  nation. 
He  had  allowed  them  to  hope  that  he  would  do  so.  Never  were 
hopes  more  cruelly  disappointed.  Had  Napoleon  here  acted  the 
part  of  a  real  liberator,  he  would  have  undone  one  of  the  greatest 
wrongs  of  which  history  knows,  and  in  the  gratitude  of  a  redeemed 
and  valiant  nation  would  have  raised  for  himself  an  enduring 
monument  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  humanity. 

As  to  Prussia,  Napoleon  was  minded  to  erase  it  from  the  map 
of  Europe.  The  intercession  of  the  Tsar  Alexander,  however, 
saved  the  state  from  total  extinction.^  But  neither  the  Tsar's  medi- 
ation in  behalf  of  his  ally,  Frederick  William  III,  nor  the  per- 
sonal entreaties  of  the  beautiful  and  patriotic  Queen  Louisa,  who 
humiliated  herself  by  appearing  as  a  suppliant  before  Napoleon 
at  Tilsit,  availed  to  save  the  monarchy  from  dismemberment 
and  the  deepest  abasement.  Besides  stripping  Prussia  of  her 
Polish  provinces  Napoleon  took  away  from  her  all  her  territories 
west  of  the  Elbe,  out  of  which,  in  connection  with  some  other 
lands,  he  made  the  new  kingdom  of  Westphalia  and  gave  it  to  his 
brother  Jerome.  This  kingdom,  into  the  making  of  which  went 
twenty-four  principalities  and  free  cities,  Napoleon  now  added  to 
the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine.  Prussia  thus  lost  fully  one  half 
of  her  territory.  What  was  left  became  virtually  a  province  of 
Napoleon's  empire. 

797.  The  Continental  Blockade;  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
Decrees  (18O6-1807).  After  the  Peace  of  Tilsit,  England  was 
Napoleon's  sole  remaining  enemy.  The  means  which  he  employed 
to  compass  the  ruin  of  this  formidable  and  obstinate  foe,  the  pay- 
master of  the  coalitions  which  he  was  having  constantly  to  face, 

1  Alexander  wished  to  maintain  Prussia  as  a  barrier  state  between  Russia  and  Napo- 
leon's empire.  He  viewed  with  apprehension  the  advance  of  Napoleon's  frontier  toward 
the  western  boundary  of  his  own  domains. 


§  798]    BEGINNING  OF  THE  PENINSULAR  WARS       553 

affords  the  key  to  the  history  of  the  great  years  from  1807  to 
his  final  downfall  at  Waterloo  in  181 5.  This  means  was  what  is 
known  as  the  Continental  Blockade  or  Continental  System.  We 
have  seen  how  the  destruction  of  Napoleon's  fleet  at  Trafalgar 
dashed  all  his  hopes  of  ever  making  a  descent  upon  the  British 
shores  (sect.  793).  Unable  to  reach  his  enemy  directly  with  his 
arms,  he  resolved  to  strike  her  through  her  commerce.  By  two 
celebrated  edicts,  called  from  the  cities  whence  they  were  issued 
the  Berlin  and  IVIilan  decrees,  he  closed  all  the  ports  of  the  Con- 
tinent against  English  ships  and  forbade  any  of  the  European 
nations  from  holding  any  intercourse  with  Great  Britain.  The 
policy  thus  adopted  by  Napoleon  to  bring  England  to  terms  by 
ruining  her  trade  was  a  suicidal  one  and  resulted  finally  in  the 
ruin  of  his  own  empire. 

798.  Beginning  of  the  Peninsular  Wars  (1807).  One  of  the 
first  consequences  of  Napoleon's  Continental  Blockade  was  to 
bring  him  into  conflict  with  Portugal.  The  prince  regent  of  that 
country  refusing  to  comply  with  all  his  demands  respecting  Eng- 
lish trade  and  property.  Napoleon  sent  one  of  his  marshals  to 
take  possession  of  the  kingdom.  The  entire  royal  family,  accom- 
panied by  many  of  the  nobility,  fled  to  Brazil.  Portugal  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  Napoleon. 

799,  Napoleon  places  his  Brother  Joseph  upon  the  Spanish 
Throne  (isos);  the  Spanish  Uprising.  Spain  was  next  appro- 
priated. Arrogantly  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  that  country, — 
the  government  it  must  be  said  was  desperately  incompetent  and 
corrupt, — Napoleon  induced  the  weak-minded  Bourbon  king, 
Charles  IV,  to  resign  to  him  as  "his  dearly  beloved  friend  and 
ally"  his  crown,  which  Napoleon  at  once  bestowed  upon  his  own 
brother  Joseph.  The  throne  of  Naples,  which  Joseph  had  been 
occupying,'  was  transferred  to  Murat,  Napoleon's  brother-in-law. 
Thus  did  this  audacious  man  make  and  unmake  kings,  and  give 
away  thrones  and  kingdoms. 

But  the  high-spirited  Spaniards  were  not  the  people  to  submit 
tamely  to  such  an  indignity.    The  entire  nation  from  the  Pyrenees 

1  Napoleon  had  dethroned  the  I5ourbons  in  Naples  in  iSo6. 


554  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [§  800 

to  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  flew  to  arms.  Portugal  also  rose,  and 
England  sent  to  her  aid  a  force  under  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  after- 
wards Duke  of  Wellington  and  the  hero  of  Waterloo.  The  French 
armies  were  soon  driven  out  of  Portugal,  and  pushed  beyond  the 
Ebro  in  Spain.  Joseph  fled  in  dismay  from  his  throne,  and  Napo- 
leon found  it  necessary  to  take  the  field  himself,  in  order  to  restore 
the  prestige  of  the  French  arms.  He  entered  the  peninsula  at  the 
head  of  a  great  army,  and  reseated  his  brother  upon  the  Spanish 
throne.  Threatening  tidings  from  another  quarter  of  Europe  now 
caused  Napoleon  to  hasten  back  to  Paris. 

800.  Napoleon's  Third  Campaign  against  Austria  (1809). 
Taking  advantage  of  Napoleon's  troubles  in  the  Iberian  penin- 
sula, Emperor  Francis  I  of  Austria  had  put  his  army  on  a  war 
footing,  and  made  ready  to  throw  down  the  gage  of  battle.  The 
war  opened  in  the  spring  of  1809.  At  the  end  of  a  short  cam- 
paign, the  most  noted  engagements  of  which  were  the  hard-fought 
battles  of  Aspern  (Essling)  and  Wagram,  Austria  was  again  at 
Napoleon's  feet.  She  was  now  still  further  dismembered.  Among 
other  lands  taken  from  her  was  a  long  strip  of  shore  land  on  the 
Adriatic,  which,  under  the  name  of  the  Illyrian  Provinces,  Napo- 
leon added  to  the  French  emjiire. 

801.  Union  of  the  Papal  States  with  Napoleon's  Empire 
(1809).  Napoleon's  Continental  System  now  brought  him  into 
trouble  with  the  Papacy.  Pope  Pius  VII  refused  to  enforce  the 
blockade  against  England  and  further  presumed  to  disregard  other 
commands  of  Napoleon.  Thereupon  Napoleon  declared  that  the 
Pope  "was  no  longer  a  secular  prince,"  and  took  possession  of 
his  domains.  Pope  Pius  straightway  e.xcommunicated  the  Em- 
peror, who  thereupon  arrested  him,  and  for  three  years  held  him 
a  state  prisoner. 

802.  Napoleon's  Second  Marriage  (isio).  Soon  after  his  tri- 
umph over  the  Emperor  Francis,  Napoleon  divorced  his  wife 
Josephine  in  order  to  form  a  new  alliance  with  the  Archduchess 
Marie  Louise  of  .Austria.  Josephine  bowed  meekly  to  the  will  of 
her  lord  and  went  into  sorrowful  exile  from  his  palace.  Napoleon's 
object  in  this  matter  was  to  cover  the  reproach  of  his  plebeian 


§803]  NEW  ANNEXATIONS  555 

birth  by  an  alliance  with  one  of  the  ancient  royal  families  of 
Europe,  and  to  secure  the  perpetuity  of  his  government  by  leav- 
ing an  heir  to  be  the  inheritor  of  his  throne  and  fortunes. 

The  ambition  of  Napoleon  to  found  a  dynast}^  seemed  realized 
when,  the  year  following  his  marriage  with  the  archduchess,  a  son 
was  born  to  them,  who  was  given  the  title  of  King  of  Rome.  His 
enemies  could  now  no  longer,  as  he  reproached  them  with  doing, 
make  appointments  at  his  grave.  He  had  now  something  more 
than  '^a  life  interest"  in  France.    The  succession  was  assured. 

803.  Holland  and  North  German  Coast  Lands  annexed  to 
Napoleon's  Empire  (1810).  During  this  year  of  his  second  mar- 
riage Napoleon  made  two  fresh  territorial  additions  to  his  empire. 

Louis  Bonaparte, — king  of  Holland,  it  will  be  recalled, — dis- 
approving of  his  brother's  Continental  System,  which  was  ruin- 
ing the  trade  of  the  Dutch,  abdicated  the  crown.  Thereupon 
Napoleon  incorporated  Holland  with  the  French  empire.  A  little 
later  he  also  annexed  to  his  empire  all  the  German  coast  land  from 
Holland  to  Liibeck  in  order  to  be  able  to  close  the  important 
ports  here  against  English  trade. 

804.  Napoleon's  Empire  at  its  Greatest  Extent  (1811).  In 
these  additions  the  Napoleonic  empire  received  its  last  enlarge- 
ment. Napoleon  was  now,  in  outward  seeming,  at  the  height  of 
his  marvelous  fortunes.  ^Marengo,  Austerlitz,  Jena,  Friedland, 
and  Wagram  were  the  successive  steps  by  which  he  had  mounted 
to  the  most  dizzy  heights  of  military  power  and  glory. 

The  empire  which  this  soldier  of  fortune  had  built  up  stretched 
from  Liibeck  to  beyond  Rome,  embracing  France  proper,  the 
Netherlands,  part  of  western  and  northwestern  Germany,  all 
western  Italy  as  far  south  as  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  together 
with  the  Illyrian  Provinces  and  the  Ionian  Islands. 

On  all  sides  were  allied,  vassal,  or  dependent  states.  Several  of 
the  ancient  thrones  of  Europe  were  occupied  by  Napoleon's  rela- 
tives or  his  favorite  marshals.  He  himself  was  head  of  the  king- 
dom of  Italy,  Protector  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  and 
Mediator  of  Switzerland.  Austria  and  Prussia  were  completely 
subject  to  his  will.    Russia  and  Denmark  were  his  allies. 


556  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [§805 

Such  were  the  relations  of  the  once  great  powers  and  independ- 
ent states  of  Europe  to  "  the  Corsican  adventurer."  Not  since  the 
time  of  the  Caesars  had  one  man's  will  swayed  so  much  of  the 
civilized  world. 

805.  Elements  of  Weakness  in  the  Empire.  But,  splendid  and 
imposing  as  at  this  moment  appeared  the  external  affairs  of 
Napoleon,  the  sun  of  his  fortunes,  which  had  risen  so  brightly  at 
Austerlitz,  had  already  passed  its  meridian.  There  were  many 
things  just  now  contributing  to  the  weakness  of  Napoleon's  em- 
pire and  foreboding  its  speedy  dissolution.  Founded  and  upheld 
by  the  genius  of  this  single  man,  it  depended  solely  upon  his  life 
and  fortunes. 

Again,  Napoleon's  Continental  System,  through  the  suffering 
and  loss  it  inflicted  particularly  upon  the  maritime  countries  of 
Europe,  had  caused  murmurs  of  discontent  all  around  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  continent. 

Still  again,  the  conscriptions  of  the  Emperor  had  drained  France 
of  men,  and  her  armies  were  now  recruited  by  mere  boys,  who 
were  utterly  unfit  to  bear  the  burden  and  fatigue  of  Napoleon's 
rapid  campaigns.  The  heavy  taxes,  also,  which  were  necessary 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  Napoleon's  wars,  and  to  carry  on  the 
splendid  public  works  upon  which  he  was  constantly  engaged, 
produced  great  suffering  and  discontent  throughout  the  empire. 

Furthermore,  Napoleon's  harsh  and  unjust  treatment  of  Pope 
Pius  VII  had  alienated  the  Catholic  clergy  and  created  a  resentful 
feeling  among  pious  Catholics  everywhere. 

At  the  same  time  the  crowd  of  deposed  princes  and  dispossessed 
aristocrats  in  those  states  which  Napoleon  had  reconstructed,  and 
in  which  he  had  set  up  the  new  code  of  equal  rights,  were  natu- 
rally resentful,  and  were  ever  watching  an  opportunity  to  regain 
their  lost  power  and  privileges. 

Even  the  large  class  who  at  first  welcomed  Napoleon  as  the 
representative  of  the  French  ideas  of  equality  and  liberty,  and 
applauded  while  he  overturned  ancient  thrones  and  stripped  of 
their  privileges  ancient  aristocracies, — even  many  of  these  early 
adherents  had  been  turned  into  bitter  enemies  by  his  adoption  of 


,.^J--\ 


T    I 


Of 


;•.!<!> 


]  ^i 

c 

o 

s 

1 

I§ 

<§ 

1 

li 

iS 

X 

i-*-- 

• — 

i 

s- 

r 

-^ 

^ 

\M^\  ^t     


CI     A? 


§806]        THE  RISING  TIDE  OF  NATIONALISM  557 

imperial  manners  and  the  formation  of  a  court,  and  especially  by 
his  setting  aside  his  first  wife,  Josephine,  and  forming  a  marriage 
alliance  with  one  of  the  old  hated  royal  houses  of  Europe. 

806.  The  New  Force  destined  to  destroy  Napoleon's  Empire: 
the  Nations.  But  the  active  force  which  was  to  overwhelm  Napo- 
leon's empire  and  to  free  Europe  from  his  tyranny  was  the  senti- 
ment of  national  patriotism  which  was  being  aroused  in  the 
dismembered  and  vassal  states,  and  in  those  whose  independence 
v/as  imperiled.  The  Empire  threatened  to  become  the  tomb  of  the 
nations.  In  the  face  of  this  danger  national  patriotism  was  being 
everywhere  awakened.  We  have  witnessed  the  popular  uprising 
in  Spain ;  we  shall  now  witness  a  similar  movement  in  Germany 
and  in  Russia. 

807.  The  Regeneration  of  Prussia.  It  was  in  Prussia  that 
this  patriotic  movement  found  most  passionate  expression.  After 
the  crushing  defeat  at  Jena,  Prussia  had  been  subjected  by  Napo- 
leon to  every  indignity  and  forced  to  drain  to  the  dregs  the  cup  of 
humiliation.  This  had  for  a  result  the  calling  into  life  among  the 
Germans  of  the  dormant  sentiment  of  national  patriotism.  The 
growth  of  the  new  feeling  was  stimulated  and  directed  by  vari- 
ous agencies.  Among  these  were  the  stirring  patriotic  songs 
of  the  poets  Korner,  Arndt,  and  others,  which  kindled  in  thou- 
sands of  German  hearts  an  unwonted  fervor  of  enthusiasm  for 
the  Fatherland. 

Education  became  another  of  the  means  of  national  quickening 
and  regeneration.  In  the  year  1808  the  philosopher  Fichte  de- 
livered before  Berlin  audiences  a  remarkable  course  of  lectures 
entitled  "Addresses  to  the  German  Nation."  No  such  appeal 
had  been  made  to  the  German  mind  and  heart  since  Luther 
published  his  "Address  to  the  German  Nobility"  (sect.  555). 
Fichte's  idea  was  that  public  education  was  the  only  hopeful 
agency  for  the  moral  and  political  regeneration  of  the  German 
nation.  The  German  youth  must  be  taught  the  duty  of  un- 
selfish devotion  to  the  public  welfare  and  must  be  made  to  realize 
the  joy  of  making  sacrifices  for  the  Fatherland.  Thus  was  a 
wholly  new  spirit  breathed  into  German  education  and  German 


558  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  1 55  807 

philosophy.'  Thousands  of  German  youths  were  stirred  by  a  senti- 
ment they  had  never  felt  before, —  ardent  love  for  the  German 
name  and  the  German  land. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  poets,  philosophers,  and  teachers 
v.ere  creating  by  their  appeals  and  methods  a  new  spirit  in 
Prussian  society,  the  masses  of  the  people  were  being  awakened 
by  the  social  and  economic  refqrms  carried  out  by  the  eminent 
patriot  statesmen  Baron  vom. Stein  and  Prince  von  Hardenberg. 

Two  thirds  of  the  population  of  Prussia  were  pA  this  time  serfs. 
Now.  Stein's  controlling  idea  was  that  the  strength  of  a  state 
depends  upon  the  patriotism  of  the  people ;  but  his  insight  re- 
vealed to  him  the  truth  that  "patriots  cannot  be  made  out  of 
serfs."    Hence  his  policy  of  enfranchisement. 

By  a  celebrated  Edict  of  Emancipation  serfdom  was  abolished. 
This  decree,  by  reason  of  its  far-reaching  consequences,  deserves 
a  place  along  with  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  the  Edict  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  II  which  liber- 
ated the  Russian  serfs. 

Along  with  serfdom,  class  privileges  and  distinctions,  which 
had  divided  the  population  of  Prussia  into  classes  separated  by 
almost  impassable  lines,  were  now  swept  away.  The  towns  were 
given  a  measure  of  local  self-government,  which  was  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  representatives  of  the  people  to  participate  in  the 
national  government. 

While  Stein  and  Hardenberg  were  effecting  these  reforms  in 
the  civil  realm,  Scharnhorst,  the  Minister  of  War,  was  reorganiz- 
ing the  army  on  the  model  of  that  of  France.  The  old  army, 
which  had  gone  to  pieces  so  disgracefully  on  the  field  of  Jena, 
was  made  up  of  conscripted  peasants,  officered  by  incompetent  and 

'  Hitherto  the  greatest  thinkers  and  writers  of  riermany  had  insisted  that  the  indi- 
vidual seek  culture  simply  for  his  own  sake.  Tl^e  State  was  the  thing  of  last  concern 
with  the  great  poet  Goethe.  National  patriotism  he  regarded  as  a  narrow  .sentiment 
unworthy  of  a  great  mind.  The  poet  Lessing  declared  patriotism  to  he  "a  heroic  weak- 
ness," and  love  of  fatherland  a  sentiment  which  he  had  never  felt.  Kqually  free  from 
this  "heroic  weakness,"  as  related  to  a  German  fatherland,  was  the  philosopher  llegel. 
The  idea  with  all  these  great  poets  and  philosophers  was  that  Cosmopolitanism  is  a 
nobler  thing  than  Nationalism  —  that  men  should  regard  themselves  not  as  citizens  of 
a  paltry  state  but  as  cilucns  of  the  world. 


§8081  NAPOLEON'S  INVASION  OF  RUSSIA  559 

insolent  nobles.  Flogging  was  the  punishment  for  even  the  most 
trivial  offenses.  The  new  army  was  an  army  of  self-respecting 
citizens,  a  truly  national  army. 

The  effect  of  these  reforms  upon  the  spirit  of  the  people  was 
magical.  They  effected  the  political  and  moral  regeneration  of 
Prussia.  Prussia  regenerated  became  the  leader  of  the  German 
nation  in  the  memorable  War  of  Liberation,  which  we  are  now 
approaching. 

808.  Napoleon's  Invasion  of  Russia  (i8i2-i?i3).  The  signal 
for  the  general  uprising  of  Germany  and  the  rest  of  Europe  was 
the  terrible  misfortune  which  befell  Napoleon  in  his  invasion  of 
Russia.  Various  circumstances  had  concurred  to  weaken  the 
friendship  and  break  the  alliance  between  the  Russian  Emperor 
and  Napoleon  ;  but  the  main  cause  of  mutual  distrust  and  aliena- 
tion was  the  Continental  Blockade.  This  had  inflicted  great  loss 
upon  Russian  trade,  and  the  Tsar  had  finally  refused  to  carry 
out  Napoleon's  decrees,  and  had  entered  a  coalition  against  France. 

Napoleon  resolved  to  force  Russia,  as  he  had  the  rest  of  Con- 
tinental Europe,  to  bow  to  his  will.  Gathering  contingents  from 
all  his  vassal  states,  he  crossed  the  Russian  frontier  at  the  head  of 
what  was  proudly  called  the  Grand  Army,  numbering  upwards 
of  four  hundred  thousand  men.  After  making  a  single  stand  at 
Smolensk,  the  Russian  army  avoided  battle,  and  as  it  retreated 
into  the  interior  devastated  the  country  in  front  of  the  advancing 
enemy.  Finally,  at  Borodino,  seventy  miles  from  Moscow,  the 
Russians  halted  and  offered  battle  to  cover  the  city,  but  in  a 
terribly  bloody  struggle  their  resistance  was  broken  and  the 
invaders  entered  the  ancient  capital  in  triumph. 

To  his  astonishment  Napoleon  found  the  city  practically  de- 
serted by  its  inhabitants ;  and  two  days  after  he  had  established 
himself  in  the  empty  palace  of  the  Tsar  (the  Kremlin),  fires, 
started  in  some  unknown  way,  broke  out  simultaneously  in  dif- 
ferent quarters  of  the  city.  The  conflagration  raged  for  five  days, 
until  the  greater  part  of  the  city  was  reduced  to  ashes. 

Napoleon's  situation  was  now  critical.  He  had  confidently 
expected,   from   his  knowledge  of   the  Emperor  Alexander,   that 


56o  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [^  sofi 

as  soon  as  the  French  army  was  in  ^Moscow  he  would  sue  for 
peace.  But  to  Napoleon's  messages  Alexander  returned  for  reply 
that  he  would  not  enter  into  negotiations  with  him  so  long  as  a 
single  French  soldier  stood  upon  Russian  soil. 

In  the  hope  that  the  Tsar  would  abandon  his  heroic  resolve, 
Napoleon  lingered  about  the  ruined  city  until  the  middle  of 
October,  and  then  finally  gave  orders  for  the  return  march.  This 
delay  was  a  fatal  mistake,  and  resulted  in  one  of  the  greatest 
tragedies  in  history.    Before  the  retreating  French  columns  had 


^fMvif^^<^"r'"'' ''^'''  '^'  ^'I'^'^'jhsit  '^^^t^--  ^.   ■vr'-'— •   ■"'"" '^>'>'-'";:ri 


';'^''^m^simmM^u 


Fui.  134.    Till-:  Kkkmlin-  ok  Moscow.    (From  a  photograpli) 

covered  half  the  distance  to  the  frontier,  the  terrible  Russian  win- 
ter was  upon  them.  The  sufferings  of  the  ill-clad  soldiers  were 
intense.  Thousands  were  frozen  to  death.  The  spot  of  each 
bivouac  was  marked  by  the  circle  of  dead  around  the  watch  fires. 
Sometimes  in  a  single  night  as  many  as  two  or  three  hundred 
perished.  Thousands  more  were  slain  by  the  peasants  and  the 
wild  Cossacks,  who  hovered  about  the  retreating  columns  and 
harassed  them  day  and  night. 

The  passage  of  the  river  Beresina  was  attended  with  appalling 
losses.  Soon  after  the  passage  of  this  stream  Napoleon,  conscious 
that  the  fate  of  his  empire  depended  upon  his  presence  in  Paris, 
left  the  remnant  of  the  army  in  charge  of  his  marshals  and  hurried 
by  post  to  his  capital. 

The  loss  by  death  of  the  French  and  their  allies  in  this  disas- 
trous campaign  is  reckoned  at  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men,  while  that  of  the  Russians  is  estimated  to  have 
been  almost  as  large. 


§  809]  THE  WAR  OF  LIBERATION  561 

809.  The  War  of  Liberation;  the  Battle  of  Leipzig,  the 
"Battle  of  the  Nations"  (1813).  Napoleon's  fortunes  were  buried 
with  his  Grand  Army  in  the  snows  of  Russia.  His  woeful  losses 
here,  taken  in  connection  with  his  great  losses  in  Spain,  encour- 
aged the  European  powers  to  think  that  now  they  could  crush 
him.  A  sixth  coalition  was  formed,  embracing  Russia,  Prussia, 
England,  Sweden,  and  later  Austria. 

Napoleon  made  gigantic  efforts  to  prepare  for  the  final 
struggle.  By  the  spring  of  18 13  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  new 
army,  numbering  eventually  over  three  hundred  thousand  men, 
— boys  we  should  say,  so  extremely  young  were  a  large  number 
of  the  fresh  recruits.  Falling  upon  the  allied  armies  of  the  Rus- 
sians and  Prussians,  first  at  Liitzen  and  then  at  Bautzen,  Napoleon 
gained  a  decisive  victory  upon  both  fields.  Austria  now  appeared 
in  the  lists,  and  at  Leipzig,  in  Saxony,  Napoleon  was  attacked  by 
the  leagued  armies  of  Europe.  So  many  were  the  powers  repre- 
sented upon  this  renowned  field  that  it  is  known  in  history  as  the 
''  Battle  of  the  Nations."  The  combat  lasted  three  days.  Napo- 
leon was  defeated  and  forced  to  retreat  into  France. 

The  armies  of  the  allies  now  poured  over  all  the  French  fron- 
tiers. Napoleon's  efforts  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  invasion  were  all 
in  vain.  Paris  surrendered  to  the  allies  (1814).  As  the  struggle 
became  plainly  hopeless,  the  Emperor's  most  trusted  officers 
deserted  and  betrayed  him.  The  Blench  Senate  issued  a  decree 
deposing  him  and  restoring  the  throne  to  the  Bourbons.  Napoleon 
was  forced  to  abdicate  and  was  banished  to  the  little  island  of 
Elba  in  the  Mediterranean,  being  permitted  to  retain  his  title  of 
Emperor  and  to  keep  about  him  a  few  of  his  old  guardsmen.  But 
Elba  was  a  very  diminutive  empire  for  one  to  whom  the  half  of 
Europe  had  seemed  too  small,  and  we  shall  not  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  Napoleon  was  not  content  with  it. 

810.  "The  Hundred  Days"  (March  20-June  29,  1815).  By 
invitation  of  the  French  Senate  the  brother  of  Louis  XVI  now 
assumed  the  crown  with  the  title  of  Louis  XVTII.  With  this  new 
Bourbon  king  the  allies  arranged  a  treaty/  the  shifty  Talleyrand, 

1  First  Treaty  of  Paris,  May  30,  1S14. 


562  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  [i5  810 

who  had  earlier  served  Napoleon,  acting  as  Louis'  representative. 
This  treaty  gave  France  the  frontiers  she  had  in  1792. 

In  accordance  with  a  promise  he  had  made,  Louis  gave  France 
a  constitution.  Notwithstanding,  he  acted  very  much  as  though 
his  power  were  unlimited.  He  styled  himself  "King  of  France 
and  Navarre  by  the  grace  of  God."  He  always  alluded  to  the  year 
in  which  he  began  to  rule  as  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  reign,  thus 
affecting  to  ignore  wholly  the  government  of  the  Republic  and 
the  Empire.  This  excited  alarm,  because  it  seemed  to  question 
the  validity  of  all  that  had  been  done  since  the  execution  of 
Louis  XVI.  There  was  widespread  dissatisfaction.  Some,  fear- 
ing lest  the  work  of  the  Revolution  would  be  undone,  began  to 
desire  the  return  of  Napoleon,  and  the  wish  was  perhaps  what 
gave  rise  to  the  report  which  was  spread  abroad  that  he  would 
come  back  with  the  spring  violets. 

In  the  month  of  March,  181 5,  as  the  commissioners  of  the 
various  powers  were  sitting  at  Vienna  rearranging  the  landmarks 
and  boundaries  obliterated  by  the  French  inundation,  news  was 
brought  to  them  that  Napoleon  had  escaped  from  Elba  and  was 
in  France.  At  first  the  members  of  the  Congress  w'ere  incredu- 
lous, regarding  the  thing  as  a  jest,  and  were  with  difficulty  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  the  report. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  rule 
of  the  restored  Bourbons,  Napoleon  had  resolved  upon  a  bold 
push  for  the  recovery  of  his  crown.  Landing  with  about  eight 
hundred  guardsmen  at  one  of  the  southern  ports  of  France,  he 
aroused  all  the  country  with  one  of  his  stirring  addresses,  and 
then  immediately  pushed  on  toward  Paris.  His  journey  to  the 
capital  was  one  continuous  ovation.  One  regiment  after  another, 
forgetting  their  recent  oath  of  loyalty  to  the  Bourbons,  hastened 
to  join  his  train.  Marshal  Ney,  sent  to  arrest  the  Emperor, 
whom  he  had  jjromised  to  bring  to  Paris  in  a  cage,  at  the  first 
sight  of  his  old  commander  threw  himself  into  his  arms  and 
pledged  him  his  sword  and  his  life.  Louis  XVIII,  deserted  by  his 
army,  was  left  helpless,  and,  as  Napoleon  approached  the  gates 
of  Paris,  fled  from  his  throne. 


§  810]  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS  563 

Napoleon  desired  peace  with  the  sovereigns  of  Europe ;  but 
they  did  not  think  the  peace  of  the  continent  could  be  maintained 
so  long  as  he  sat  upon  the  French  throne.  For  the  seventh  and 
last  time  the  allies  leagued  their  armies  against  "the  disturber 
of  the  peace  of  Europe." 

Hoping  to  overwhelm  the  armies  of  the  allies  by  striking  them 
one  after  another  before  they  had  time  to  unite,  Napoleon  moved 
swiftly  into  Belgium  with  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  in  order  to  crush  there  the  English  under  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  and  the  Prussians  under  Bliicher.  He  first  fell  in 
with  and  defeated  the  Prussian  army,  and  then  faced  the  English 
at  Waterloo  (June  18,  1815). 

The  story  of  Waterloo  need  not  be  told, — how  all  day  the 
French  broke  their  columns  in  vain  on  the  English  squares ; 
how,  at  the  critical  moment  toward  the  close  of  the  day  when 
Wellington  was  wishing  for  Bliicher  or  for  night,  Bliicher  with 
a  fresh  force  of  thirty  thousand  Prussians  turned  the  tide  of 
battle ;  and  how  the  famous  Old  Guard,  which  knew  how  to  die 
but  not  how  to  surrender,^  made  its  last  charge  and  left  its 
hitherto  invincible  squares  upon  the  lost  field. 

A  second  time  Napoleon  was  forced  to  abdicate,"  and  a  second 
time  Louis  XVHI  ascended  his  unstable  throne.^  Napoleon 
made  his  way  to  the  coast,  purposing  to  take  ship  for  the  United 
States ;  but  the  way  was  barred  by  British  watchfulness,  and  he 
was  constrained  to  surrender  to  the  commander  of  the  English 
warship  Bellcrophou.  "I  come,  like  Themistocles,"  he  said,  "to 
throw  myself  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  English  people." 

But  no  one  believed  that  Napoleon  could  safely  be  left  at  large, 
or  that  his  presence  anywhere  in  Europe,  even  though  he  were  in 
close  confinement,  would  be  consistent  with  the  future  security 

1  General  Cambronne,  the  commander  of  the  Guard,  when  summoned  to  surrender, 
is  said  to  have  returned  this  reply:  "The  Guard  dies,  but  never  surrenders."  There  is 
doubt  concerning  the  origin  of  the  famous  phrase. 

2  His  abdication  was  in  favor  of  his  little  son,  whom  be  proclaimed  ''  Xapolcnn  II, 
Emperor  of  the  French." 

3  The  allies  now  signed  with  Louis  wliat  is  known  as  the  ."Second  Treaty  of  Paris 
(November  20,  1S15).    France  had  now  to  accept  the  frontiers  which  were  hers  in  1  rSg. 


564  THE  NAPOLEONIC  EMPIRE  L§  810 

and  repose  of  the  continent.  Some  even  urged  that  he  be  given 
up  to  Louis  XVIII  to  be  shot  as  a  rebel  and  an  outlaw.  The  final 
decision  was  that  he  should  be  banished  to  the  island  of  St. 
Helena,  in  the  South  Atlantic.  Thither  he  was  carried  by  the 
English,  and  closely  guarded  by  them  until  his  death  in  1821. 

The  story  of  these  last  years  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  as  gath- 
ered from  the  companions  of  his  exile,  is  one  of  the  most  pathetic 
in  all  history.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  in  his  fifty-second 
year.  As  a  military  genius  and  commander  he  left  a  deeper 
impress  upon  the  imagination  of  the  world  and  fills  a  larger  place 
in  history,  probably,  than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived.  "He 
was  as  great  as  a  man  can  be  without  virtue"  (Tocqueville) . 

References.  Boikne,  H.  E.,  The  I\c7>olitiioiia>y  Period  in  France,  chaps, 
xvii-xxvii.  Among  the  numerous  biographies  of  Napoleon  the  following  pos- 
sess special  merit  and  authority  :  F"()URNMK.R,  A.,  A'apoleou  the  First;  Johnston, 
R.  M.,  Napoleon  ;  Rose,  J.  II.,  The  Life  of  A'apoleon  /,  2  vols. ;  Si.oane,  W.  M., 
Life  of  A^apoleon  Bonaparte,  4  vols.;  Lankkkv,  P.,  The  I/istoiy  of  A'apoleon 
the  First,  4  vols,  (left  incomplete  by  the  death  of  the  author)  ;  Seei.ey,  J.  R., 
Napoleon  the  First;  and  Roi'Es,  J.  C,  The  First  A'apoleon.  (Lanfrey  makes  the 
Emperor  the  subject  of  bitter  reproach.) 

Works  dealing  with  special  phases  of  the  history  of  the  period:  .Mahan, 
A.  T.,  The  Lnfiience  of  Sea  Po-u>er  upon  the  P'rench  Revolution  and  Finpirc, 
2  vols. ;   Seelev,  J.  R.,  Life  and  Times  of  Stein,  2  vols. 


///.  FROM  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  TO  THE 
TREATY  OF  VERSAILLES 

(1815-1919) 

CHAPTER  LXVIII 

THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  AND  METTERNICH 

811.  Ideas    bequeathed    by    the    French    Revolution.    The 

social  and  political  history  of  Europe  since  the  overthrow  of 
Napoleon  is,  in  the  main,  a  continuation  of  the  history  of  the  great 
social  and  political  upheaval  which  we  have  been  witnessing.  The 
dominant  forces  at  work  throughout  this  period  have  been  the 
ideas  or  principles  inherited  from  the  French  Revolution. 

There  were  three  of  these  principles  with  which,  as  revolutionary 
forces  in  history,  we  have  already  become  familiar  in  tracing 
the  story  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Empire.  The  first  was  the 
idea  or  principle  of  equality ;  the  second,  that  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people ;  the  third,  that  of  nationality.  These  principles  or 
ideas,  as  we  have  said,  were  the  precious  political  heritage  which 
the  nineteenth  century  received  from  the  Revolution.'  They  were 
full  of  vitality  and  energy.  Their  outworking,  their  embodiment 
in  social  institutions,  in  law,  in  government,  makes  up  a  large 
part  of  universal  history  since  the  downfall  of  Napoleon. 

Throughout  the  period  that  generous  sentiment  of  '89,  that 
all  men  are  born  and  remain  free  and  equal  in  rights,  has  been 
at  work  emancipating  and  elevating  the  hitherto  unfree  and  down- 
trodden orders  of  society,  and  removing  civil  and  religious  and 
race  disabilities  from  disqualified  classes  in  the  state.    The  period 

•  Oi  course  these  ideas  were  not  novel  doctrines  promulgated  now  for  the  first  time. 
All  that  is  meant  by  calling  them  the  ideas  of  the  French  Revolution  is  that  by  the  Rev- 
olution they  were  invested  with  new  authoritv  and  were  given  new  course  in  the  world. 

565 


566  THE  CON-GRESS  OF  VIENNA  [§  812 

is  especially  rich  in  emancipation  edicts  and  statutes.  Slavery  and 
serfdom  and  every  form  of  mediaeval  feudal  inequality,  under  the 
influence  of  the  new  spirit  of  equality,  have  disappeared  or  are 
fast  disappearing  from  the  civilized  world. 

The  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  has  likewise  been 
a  potent  force  in  shaping  the  events  of  the  period.  A  chief  feature 
of  the  history  of  the  time  has  been  the  substitution  of  representa- 
tive government  for  autocratic  monarchy.  It  is  this  cause  of 
democracy,  of  self-government,  that  has  enlisted  the  efforts  and 
inspired  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  noblest  spirits  of  the  age.  The 
people  of  every  country  where  any  considerable  degree  of  en- 
lightenment has  come  to  prevail  have  passionately  espoused  this 
principle  and  have  fought  for  its  establishment  as  the  best  hope 
for  a  better  future  for  themselves  and  for  their  children. 

Equally  powerful  as  a  revolutionary  force  has  been  the  sentiment 
of  nationality.  This  has  been  at  once  a  creative  and  a  disruptive 
force.  It  has  called  into  existence  many  nation  states  ;  under  the 
strain  of  a  world  war  it  has  dismembered,  wholly  or  in  part,  great 
historic  empires  and  has  remolded  or  is  remolding  their  elements 
as  near  as  may  be  in  accord  with  racial  affinities  and  national 
aspirations. 

But  these  ideas,  as  we  have  intimated,  have  not  had  free 
course.  Their  embodiment  in  social  institutions  and  in  political 
forms  has  been,  in  most  countries,  a  process  violent  and  revolu- 
tionary in  character.  This  has  resulted  from  these  liberal  prin- 
ciples coming  into  conflict  with  certain  opposing  conservative 
doctrines  with  which  they  have  had  to  struggle  for  supremacy. 
And  this  brings  us  to  the  starting  point  of  the  history  of  the 
last  century,  — the  celebrated   Congress  of  Vienna. 

812.  The  Congress  of  Vienna  (September,  1814-June,  1815). 
After  the  first  abdication  of  Napoleon,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
European  sovereigns,  either  in  person  or  by  their  representatives, 
met  at  Vienna  to  readjust  the  affairs  of  the  continent.  As  we 
shall  hereafter,  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  separate 
European  countries  since  the  Vienna  settlement,  have  occasion  to 
say  something  respecting  the  relations  of  each  to  the  Congress,  we 


EUEOPE 

After  ISlo 

8CAIE  OF  v;i  En 


A\exina'5V 


o 
?  \  ■•■•■■\-'      S\  T,    T,rS  rG  jjCCsbipvaf*"    „,  -^i      ^ 


^ 


§812]  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  567 

shall  here  say  only  a  word  regarding  the  spirit  and  temper  of 
the  assembly  and  the  general  character  of  its  work. 

The  Vienna  commissioners  seemed  to  have  but  one  thought 
and  aim, —  to  restore  everything  as  nearly  as  possible  to  its  con- 
dition before  the  Revolution.  They  had  no  care  for  the  people; 
the  princes  were  their  only  concern.  The  principle  of  nationality 
was  wholly  ignored,  while  that  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people 
was,  by  most  of  the  plenipotentiaries,  looked  upon  as  a  principle 
of  disorder  to  be  repressed  in  every  possible  way.  The  Congress 
was  concisely  and  truthfully  characterized  by  a  liberal  statesman 
of  the  time  as  "an  auction  of  nations  and  an  orgy  of  kings." 

The  first  principle  adopted  by  the  Congress  was  that  of  legiti- 
macy. According  to  this  principle  a  throne  is  to  be  regarded  like 
any  ordinary  piece  of  property.  Long  possession  gives  a  gooJ  and 
indefeasible  title.  Under  this  rule  all  the  new  usurping  families 
set  up  by  Napoleon  were  ejected  without  ceremony,  and  the  old 
exiled  dynasties  were  restored.  The  most  important  of  these  resti- 
tutions, either  effected  by  the  direct  action  of  the  Congress  or 
already  consummated  by  events  and  confirm.ed  by  it,  were  those 
which  brought  back  the  banished  Bourbon  dynasties  in  France, 
Spain,  and  Naples. 

The  principle  was  applied  only  in  the  case  of  hereditary  lay 
rulers.  It  was  not  applied  to  governments  of  city-states  like 
Venice  or  the  free  cities  of  Germany,  nor  to  ecclesiastical  states. 
The  crowd  of  ecclesiastical  German  princes  whom  Napoleon  had 
dispossessed  of  their  territories  were  not  reinstated.  The  Pope, 
however,  was  made  an  e.xception  to  this  exception.  Pius  VII  was 
given  back  the  Papal  States.  These  formed  now  the  only  eccle- 
siastical state  left  in  Europe. 

Another  exception  in  the  application  of  the  principle  was  in 
the  case  of  the  hundreds  of  petty  German  rulers  whose  territories 
Napoleon  in  his  reorganization  of  Germany  had  given  to  the 
larger  states.    These  princelets  were  not  restored. 

This  question  of  legitimacy  having  been  settled,  the  next  ques- 
tion was  how  the  territories  recovered  from  Napoleon  should  be 
distributed  among  the  dynasties   recognized  as  legitimate.    For 


568  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  [§  812 

most  of  the  sovereigns  this  was  the  subject  of  chief  interest.  In 
making  the  distribution  no  thought  whatever  was  taken  of  the 
rights  and  claims  of  race  or  nationality.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
countries  available  for  division  were  apportioned  among  the  dif- 
ferent sovereigns  exactly  as  a  herd  of  cattle  might  be  divided  up 
and  apportioned  among  different  owners.  The  following  territorial 
settlements  were  among  the  most  important. 

The  Belgian  and  Dutch  provinces  were  united  into  a  single 
state,  which,  under  the  name  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Netherlands, 
was  given  to  a  prince  of  the  House  of  Orange.  The  purpose  of 
this  was  to  create  on  this  side  of  France  a  strong  barrier  against 
possible  French  aggression  in  the  future.  The  fact  that  the 
Dutch  and  the  Belgians,  by  reason  of  differences  in  race,  in  reli- 
gion, and  in  industrial  development,  formed  really  two  distinct 
nations  was  wholly  ignored. 

A  great  part  of  what  had  been  Poland  was  made  into  a  subject 
kingdom  of  the  Russian  Empire.  The  Poles  were  informed  that 
they  must  give  up  all  thought  and  hope  of  the  restoration  of  their 
national  independence.^ 

Prussia  was  given  about  half  of  the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  exten- 
sive territories  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine,  and  other  lands,  which 
gave  her  a  more  preponderant  position  in  Germany  than  she  had 
before  the  Revolution. 

Lombardy  and  Venetia  in  Upper  Italy,  along  with  other  lands, 
were  given  to  Austria.  This  extension  of  Austrian  rule  over 
Italian  lands  was  one  of  the  grossest  violations  of  the  principle  of 
nationality  of  which  the  Congress  was  guilty,  and  was  to  be  sig- 
nally avenged  when  the  hour  for  Italian  unity  and  independence 
arrived. 

In  Germany  the  Congress  built  upon  the  basis  laid  by  Napo- 
leon. Thirty-nine  of  the  forty-two  sovereign  states,  including 
Prussia  and  Austria,  to  which  he  had  reduced  the  hundreds  of 

1  Sweden  was  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  Nonvay,  which  Denmark  lost  as  a  con- 
sequence of  her  alliance  with  Napoleon.  The  two  countries  were  to  form  a  dual  monarchy, 
each  having  its  own  Parliament,  or  Diet,  but  united  under  a  single  crown.  This  arrange- 
ment subsisted  until  Jgo-,,  when  Norway  declared  the  un-ion  dissolved,  and,  choosing 
Prince  Charles  of  Denmark  as  king,  became  an  independent  kingdom. 


§  812]  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  569 

states  constituting  the  old  Germanic  system,  were  organized  into 
a  confederation  modeled  upon  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine/ 

In  Italy,  on  the  other  hand,  Napoleon's  work  was  undone  and 
the  old  order  of  things  was  reestablished.  With  the  exception  of 
the  provinces  in  the  north,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  were  given  to 
Austria,  the  peninsula  was  divided  into  independent  states,  such 
as  had  existed  before  the  Revolution.^ 

A  third  matter  which  occupied  the  attention  particularly  of  the 
committee  on  German  affairs  was  the  granting  of  constitutions 
to  their  subjects  by  the  different  sovereigns.  In  spirit  and  in 
temper  the  restored  rulers  were  for  the  most  part  the  old  pre- 
revolutionary  despots  come  into  their  own  again,  but  thoroughly 
frightened  by  what  had  happened.  Their  desire  was  to  rule  in 
the  old  autocratic  way ;  but  there  were  those  among  them  who 
recognized  that  a  change  had  come  over  the  world,  and  that  the 
old  absolutism  could  not  with  safety  be  reestablished. 

Consequently  constitutions  were  talked  about.  Louis  XVIII 
had  been  required  by  the  terms  of  the  treaties  of  Paris  to  give 
France  a  constitution,  the  allies  understanding  perfectly  that  if 
the  restored  Bourbons  should  attempt  to  rule  as  absolute  sover- 
eigns there  would  be  trouble  again  which  would  unsettle  everything 
in  Europe.  And  now  the  Congress  recommended  to  the  German 
princes  that  representative  bodies  ("Assemblies  of  Estates," 
they  were  called;  the  use  of  the  word  constitution  was  carefully 
avoided)  be  established  in  each  state.  The  only  states,  besides 
France,  which  at  this  time  actually  received  constitutions  were 
the  Netherlands,  Switzerland,  Poland,  and  Norway.^ 

And  even  where  constitutions  already  existed  or  were  now 
granted,  these  charters  gave  the  people  very  little  share  in  the 
government.  They  were  constitutions  of  the  strict  aristocratic 
type ;   that  is,  they  placed  the  government,  where  its  form  was 

'  For  further  details  concerning  the  reorganization  of  Germany,  see  sect.  860. 

-  The  little  island  of  Helgoland,  which  commands  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe,  was  at  this 
time  ceded  to  Great  Rritain  by  Denmark.  In  iSgo  Great  Hritain  ceded  the  islet  to  the 
new  German  Empire. 

*  Hungary,  like  England,  had  a  constitution  which  had  taken  form  during  mediicval 
times.    Sweden  also  had  a  constitution  dating  from  the  revolutionary  period. 


S70 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA 


[5^813 


monarchical,  in  the  hands  of  the  sovereign  and  a  small  body  of 
voters.  Practically  the  old  regime  of  absolutism  was  almost  every- 
where reestablished.    The  world  was  made  safe  for  autocracy. 

813.  Prince  Metternich.  The  spirit  of  the  monarchical  restora- 
tion of  1 815,  the  spirit  which  controlled  the  Congress  of  Vienna, 
was  incarnate  in  the  celebrated  Austrian  minister,  Prince  Metter- 
nich.   He  hated  the  Revolution,  which  to  him  was  the  spirit  of 

evil  let  loose  in  the  world.  The 
democratic  spirit  he  declared  to 
be  the  spirit  of  disorder  which 
could  not  fail  "to  change  daylight 
into  darkest  night."  The  demand 
of  the  people  for  a  share  in  govern- 
ment he  regarded  as  presumptuous, 
and  he  was  wholly  convinced  that 
any  concession  to  their  demands 
could  result  in  nothing  save  hor- 
rible confusion  and  bloodshed.  He 
believed  that  the  only  hope  of  the 
world  was  the  old  divine-right 
absolutism. 

Metternich's  system,  therefore, 
was  a  system  of  repression.  His 
maxim  was  "Let  nothing  be 
changed."  A  diplomatist  of  wonderful  astuteness,  of  wide  experi- 
ence, and  possessed  of  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  public  affairs 
of  all  Europe,  Metternich  exerted  a  vast  inlluence  upon  the  history 
of  the  years  from  181 5  to  1848.  This  period  might  appropriately 
be  called  the  Age  of  Metternich.  It  was  due  largely  to  the  prince 
that  during  this  period  the  old  autocratic  form  of  government  pre- 
vailed so  generally  in  Europe. 

814.  Metternich  and  the  Holy  Alliance.  The  activity  of  Met- 
ternich (luring  the  earlier  portion  f)f  (he  period  of  his  ascendancy 
was  so  closely  connected  with  a  celebrated  league  known  as  the 
Holy  .Alliance  that  we  must  here  say  a  word  respecting  the  origin 
of  this  association. 


Fio.  135.  Pkincf.  Mkttku.mcii 

(From  a  painting  by  Sir  TJtojiias 

Laun-euce) 


§815]  OTHER  FORMATIVE  FORCES  571 

The  Holy  Alliance  was  a  league  formed  just  after  the  fall 
of  Napoleon  by  the  Tsar  Alexander  and  having  as  its  chief 
members  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia.  The  ostensible  object  of 
the  league  was  the  maintenance  of  religion,  peace,  and  order  in 
Europe  and  the  reduction  to  practice  in  politics  of  the  teachings 
of  Christ.  The  several  sovereigns  entering  into  the  union  promised 
to  be  fathers  to  their  people,  to  rule  in  love  and  with  reference 
solely  to  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  their  subjects. 

All  this  had  a  very  millennial  look.  But  the  Holy  Alliance  very 
soon  became  practically  a  league  for  the  maintenance  of  absolute 
principles  of  government,  in  opposition  to  the  liberal  tendencies 
of  the  age.  Under  the  pretext  of  maintaining  religion,  justice, 
and  order,  the  sovereigns  of  the  union  acted  in  concert  to  sup- 
press every  aspiration  for  political  liberty  among  their  subjects. 

815.  Other  Principles,  Movements,  and  Interests,  Lest  the 
foregoing  sections  should  create  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  a  wrong 
impression  of  post-revolutionary  histor\^,  we  must  here  remind  him 
of  what  we  have  said  repeatedly;  namely,  that  no  single  formula 
will  suffice  to  sum  up  the  history  of  any  age.  History  is  ever 
very  complex,  for  many  ideas  and  many  forces  are  always  simul- 
taneously at  work  shaping  and  coloring  events. 

The  history  of  the  period  since  the  Congress  of  Vienna  presents 
a  special  complexity.  While  the  great  ideas  transmitted  to  the  age 
as  a  bequest  from  the  Revolution  were  forces  that  have  given  the 
age  its  chief  features,  still  throughout  the  era  various  other  ideas, 
principles,  and  interests  have  contributed  greatly  to  fill  particularly 
the  later  years  of  the  period  with  a  vast  complexity  of  move- 
ments,— intellectual,  religious,  industrial,  and  colonial. 

The  spirit  of  the  Renaissance  has  been  in  the  society  of  the 
period  a  pervasive  and  powerful  influence.  Intelligence  has  be- 
come ever  more  diffused,  and  modern  science,  a  special  product 
of  the  revival,  has  constantly  revealed  fresh  wonders  of  the  uni- 
verse and  armed  man  with  new  instruments  of  research  and  of 
mastery  over  nature. 

The  true  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  too,  has  been  at  work.  As 
the  years  have  passed,  creeds  have  grown  more  liberal,  and  the 


572  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  lJiS15 

beneficent  sentiment  of  toleration  in  religion,  which  has  been 
declared  to  be  "the  best  fruit  of  the  last  four  centuries,"  has 
made  rapid  progress  in  the  world. 

Furthermore,  the  era  has  witnessed  an  unparalleled  industrial 
development  resulting  from  fortunate  discoveries,  ingenious  me- 
chanical inventions,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  causes.  To  a 
brief  review  of  this  world-transforming  movement  we  shall  give 
a  special  chapter. 

The  period  has  also  been  marked  by  a  wonderful  expansion 
movement  of  the  European  peoples,  a  movement  which  has  given 
the  world  very  largely  into  the  possession,  or  brought  it  under  the 
control,  of  the  bearers  of  the  new  and  higher  civilization  created 
by  the  revolutions  of  the  last  three  centuries  in  the  homeland  of 
Europe.  To  this  significant  movement  we  shall  also  devote  a 
separate  chapter  under  the  heading  "The  Expansion  of  Europe." 

The  period  was  closed  by  the  greatest  war  of  all  times,  a  war 
whose  ultimate  results  must  inevitably  be  so  profound  and  far- 
reaching  that  it  may  well  mark  the  opening  of  a  new  epoch  in 
universal  history.  A  review  of  the  deeper  causes  of  this  stupendous 
conflict,  a  summary  of  its  outstanding  events,  and  a  brief  survey 
of  the  changed  world  which  emerged  from  the  overwhelming 
catastrophe  will  be  all  our  prescribed  space  will  permit. 

References.  Among  the  great  number  of  works  covering  the  century 
between  the  Congress  of  Vienna  and  the  World  War  the  following  present  in 
brief  survey  the  whole  or  some  part  or  phase  of  the  history  of  the  period : 
Fyffe,  C.  a.,  a  History  of  Moder)!  Europe,  ijgs-iSjS  (Popular  Edition) ; 
Phillips,  W.  A.,  Modem  Europe,  iSi^-iSqq;  An'DREWS,  C.  M..  The  Historical 
Developmevt  of  Modem  Europe,  2  vols.;  Seignodos,  C,  A  Political  History  of 
Europe  since  1814  ;  IIazen,  C.  D.,  Modern  European  History,  chaps,  xii-xxviii; 
Hayes,  C.  J.  H.,  A  Political  and  Social  History  of  Modem  Europe,  vol.  ii ; 
Lowell,  A.  L.,  Governments  and  Parties  in  Coutineutal  Europe,  2  vols.;  and 
Rose,  J.  H.,  The  Development  of  the  European  Nations,  2  vols. 


CHAPTER  LXIX 

FRANCE  FROM  THE  SECOND  RESTORATION  TO  THE 

WORLD  WAR 

(1815-1914) 

816.  The  Reign  of  Louis  XVIII  (i8i5[i4]-i824).  "Your  king, 
whose  fathers  reigned  over  your  fathers  for  more  than  eight 
centuries,  now  returns  to  devote  the  rest  of  his  days  to  defend 
and  to  comfort  you."  Such  were  the  words  used  by  Louis  upon 
his  second  return  to  his  people  after  Waterloo.  The  events  of 
the  Hundred  Days  had  instructed  and  humbled  him.  Profiting 
by  his  experience,  Louis  ruled  throughout  a  great  part  of  the 
remainder  of  his  reign  with  reasonable  heed  to  the  changes 
effected  by  the  Revolution.  But  as  he  grew  old  and  infirm  he 
yielded  more  and  more  to  the  extreme  Royalist  party,  which  was 
again  raising  its  head,  and  the  government  entered  upon  a  course 
looking  to  the  restoration  of  the  old  order  of  things. 

817.  The  Reign  of  Charles  X  (i824-i83o);  the  Revolution 
of  1830.  Upon  the  death  of  Louis  in  1824  and  the  accession 
of  Charles  X,  this  reactionary  policy  soon  became  more  pro- 
nounced. The  new  king  seemed  utterly  incapable  of  profiting 
by  the  teachings  of  the  past.  It  was  particularly  his  blind,  stub- 
born course  that  gave  point  to  the  saying,  "A  Bourbon  learns 
nothing  and  forgets  nothing." 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  rehearse  in  detail  what  Charles  did 
or  what  he  failed  to  do.  His  aim  was  to  undo  the  work  of  the 
Revolution,  just  as  it  was  the  aim  of  James  II  in  England  to  undo 
the  work  of  the  Puritan  Revolution.  He  disregarded  the  consti- 
tution, restored  the  clergy  to  power,  and  changed  the  laws  by 
royal  proclamation.  He  seemed  bent  on  restoring  divine-right 
monarchy  in  France.  He  declared  that  he  would  rather  saw 
wood  for  a  living  than  rule  after  the  fashion  of  the  English  kings. 


574        FRANCE  AFTER  SECOND  RESTORATION     L*J  «18 

The  outcome  might  have  been  foreseen.  Paris  rose  in  revolt. 
Charles  was  escorted  to  the  scacoast,  whence  he  took  ship  for 
England.  France  did  not  at  this  time  think  of  a  republic.  She 
was  inclined  to  try  further  the  experiment  of  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  represented  the 
younger  branch  of  the  Bourbon  family,  was  placed  on  the  throne 
and  the  constitution  was  revised.  In  the  charter  which  Louis 
XVni  had  granted  he  had  styled  himself  "King  of  France  hy  the 
grace  of  God.''''  The  new  constitution  declared  Louis  Philippe  to 
be  "King  of  the  French  by  the  grace  of  God  and  by  the  will  of 
the  nation."  The  first  principle  of  the  Revolution  —  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  people — was  thus  embodied  in  the  fundamental 
law  of  France. 

818.  Effect  upon  Europe  of  the  "July  Revolution"  of  1830  ; 
Origin  of  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium.  The  convulsion  in  Paris 
shook  all  the  restored  thrones,  and  for  a  moment  threatened  to 
topple  into  ruins  the  whole  fabric  of  absolutism  that  had  been  so 
carefully  upreared  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna.  In  the  Netherlands 
the  artificial  order  established  by  that  body  (sect.  812)  was 
undone.  The  Belgians  rose,  declared  themselves  independent  of 
Holland,  adopted  a  liberal  constitution,  and  elected  Leopold  of 
Saxe-Coburg  as  their  king  (1831).  Thus  came  into  existence  the 
separate  kingdom  of  Belgium.  The  independence  and  neutrality 
of  the  little  state  were  guaranteed  by  all  the  great  powers. 

819.  The  Revolution  of  1848  and  the  Establishment  of  the 
Second  Republic.  The  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  up  to  1848  was 
very  unquiet,  yet  was  not  marked  by  any  disturbance  of  great  im- 
portance. But  during  all  this  time  the  ideas  of  the  Revolution 
were  working  among  the  people,  and  the  democratic  party  was 
constantly  gaining  in  strength.  Finally  there  came  a  demand  for 
the  extension  of  the  suffrage.  At  this  time  there  were  only  about 
two  hundred  thousand  voters  in  France,  the  possession  of  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  property  being  required  as  a  qualification  for  the 
franchise.  The  government  steadily  refused  all  electoral  reforms. 
Guizot,  the  king's  chief  minister,  declared  that  "this  world  is  no 
place  for  universal  suffrage." 


§  820]  THE  SECOND  EMPIRE  575 

There  came  an  uprising  like  that  of  1830.  The  center  of  this 
disturbance,  of  course,  was  Paris.  Louis  PhiHppe  fled  to  Eng- 
land. After  his  departure  the  Paris  mob  dragged  the  throne  out 
of  the  Tuileries  and  made  a  bonfire  of  it. 

The  Second  Republic  was  now  set  up.  A  new  constitution 
established  universal  suffrage.  An  election  being  ordered,  Louis 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  a  nephew  of  the  great  Napoleon,  was  chosen 
President  of  the  new  Republic  (1848). 

The  Paris  "February  Revolution,"  as  it  is  called,  lighted  the 
beacon  fires  of  liberty  throughout  Europe.  "It  is  scarcely  an 
exaggeration  to  say  that,  during  the  month  of  iSIarch,  1848,  not  a 
single  day  passed  without  a  constitution  being  granted  somewhere." 

820.  The  Second  Empire  (i852-i87o).  The  life  of  the  Second 
Republic  spanned  only  three  years.  By  almost  exactly  the  same 
steps  as  those  by  which  his  uncle  had  mounted  the  imperial  throne, 
Louis  Napoleon  now  also  ascended  to  the  imperial  dignity,  crush- 
ing the  Republic  as  he  rose. 

A  contest  having  arisen  between  the  President  and  the  National 
Assembly,  the  President  planned  a  coup  d'etat, —  a  second  Eight- 
eenth Brumaire  (sect.  782).  He  caused  the  arrest  at  night  of  the 
most  prominent  of  the  deputies  opposed  to  him  in  the  Assembly 
and  dissolved  that  body.  His  appeal  to  the  people  to  indorse 
what  he  had  done  met  with  a  most  extraordinary  response.  By 
a  majority  of  almost  seven  million  votes  the  nation  approved 
the  President's  coup  d'etat  and  rewarded  him  for  it  by  extend- 
ing his  term  of  office  to  ten  years.  This  was  in  effect  the  revival 
of  the  Consulate  of  1799.  The  next  year  Louis  Napoleon  was 
made  Emperor,  and  took  the  title  of  Napoleon  III. 

The  secret  of  Louis  Napoleon's  success  in  his  coup  d'etat  was 
in  part  the  fear  that  prevailed  of  the  renewal  of  the  Terror  of  '93, 
and  in  part  the  magic  power  of  the  name  he  bore.  At  just  this 
time  the  name  Napoleon  was  in  France  a  name  to  conjure  with. 
There  had  been  growing  up  a  Napoleonic  legend.  Time  had 
idealized  the  founder  of  the  First  Empire. 

As  the  Second  and  the  Third  Republic  were  simply  revivals 
and   continuations   of    the    First    Republic,    so   was   the    Second 


576        FRANCE  AFTER  SECOND  RESTORATION     L§  820 


Empire  merely  the  revival  and  continuation  of  the  First  Empire. 
It  was  virtually  the  same  in  origin,  in  spirit,  and  in  policy. 

Louis  Napoleon  had  declared  that  the  Empire  meant  peace. 
But  it  meant  anything  except  that.  The  pages  of  its  history  are 
filled  with  the  records  of  wars.  There  were  three  important  ones 
in  which  the  armies  of  the  Empire  took  part, —  the  Crimean  War 
(1853-1856),  the  Austro-Sardinian  War  (1859),  and  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War  ( 1 870-1 871).  The 
first  two  of  these  wars  need  not  de- 
tain us  at  this  time,  since  we  shall 
speak  of  them  later  in  connection 
with  Russian  and  Italian  affairs. 
The  only  thing  that  requires  to  be 
said  here  is  that  in  each  of  them 
Louis  Napoleon  greatly  enhanced 
his  prestige  throughout  Europe, 

Respecting    the    causes    of    the 
third  war, —  the  one  between  Prus- 
sia and   France, — something  will 
be  said  in  connection  with  the  rise 
of  Germany  as  an  imperial  power 
(sect.    871);    therefore   only   the 
outstanding  events  of  the  war  itself 
will  be  given  a  place  here. 
Upon  the  opening  of  the  war  three  immense  German  armies  swept 
into  France.    One  large  French  army  was  defeated  in  the  memo- 
rable battle  of  Gravelotte  and  shut  up  in  ISIetz.    Then  followed 
the  surrender  at  Sedan,  where  eighty-three  thousand  men,  includ- 
ing the  Emperor  himself,  gave  themselves  up  as  prisoners  of  war.^ 
The  German  columns  now  advanced  to  Paris  and  began  the 
investment  of  the  city.    All  reasonable  hope  of  a  successful  defense 
of  the  capital  was  soon  destroyed  by  the  surrender  to  the  Germans 
of  Marshal    Bazaine  at   Metz.    One   hundred   and   seventy-nine 
thousand  soldiers  and  officers  became  prisoners  of  war, —  the  largest 
army  that  up  to  that  time  had  ever  been  taken  captive.    But  Paris 

1  After  the  war  Louis  N.ipolcon  found  an  asylum  in  England.    lie  died  January  9,  1873. 


Fig.  136.  NapolkoxIII.  (After 
a  portrait  by  /•'.  M'intcrliallcr) 


§821]  TREATY  OF  FRANKFORT  577 

held  out  stubbornly,  with  great  suffering  from  cold  and  hunger, 
three  months  longer ;  and  then,  all  outside  measures  for  raising 
the  siege  having  failed,  capitulated. 

821.  Treaty  of  Frankfort  (i87i).  By  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
which  followed  the  surrender  of  Paris,  France  was  required  to  pay 
an  indemnity  of  five  billion  francs^  (Si,ooo, 000,000),  and  cede 
to  Germany  the  Rhenish  province  of  Alsace  and  part  of  Lorraine.- 
The  tearing  away  from  France  of  these  provinces  was  a  gross 
violation  of  the  principle  of  nationality,  since  the  inhabitants  of 
the  ceded  territories,  though  not  wholly  French  in  blood,  were 
passionately  French  in  sympathy  and  attachment.  Against  the 
"  odious  abuse  of  force  "  of  which  they  were  the  unhappy  victims, 
their  delegates  in  the  National  Assembly  at  Bordeaux,  on  their 
withdrawal  from  the  convention  chamber,  made  the  following 
solemn  and  prophetic  protest;  "Europe  cannot  permit  or  ratify 
the  abandonment  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  The  civilized  nations, 
as  guardians  of  justice  and  national  rights,  cannot  remain  indif- 
ferent to  the  fate  of  their  neighbors  under  pain  of  becoming  in 
their  turn  victims  of  the  outrages  they  have  tolerated.  Modern 
Europe  cannot  allow  a  people  to  be  seized  like  a  herd  of  cattle  ;  she 
cannot  continue  deaf  to  the  repeated  protests  of  threatened  nation- 
alities. .  .  .  We  declare  once  for  all  null  and  void  an  agreement 
which  disposes  of  us  without  our  consent.  ...  In  the  moment  we 
cjuit  this  hall,  the  supreme  thought  we  find  in  the  bottom  of  our 
hearts  is  a  thought  of  unutterable  attachment  to  the  land  from 
which  in  violence  we  are  torn.  Our  brothers  of  Alsace  and  of 
Lorraine,  separated  at  this  moment  from  the  common  family, 
will  preserve  to  France,  absent  from  their  hearthstones,  an  af- 
fection faithful  to  the  day  when  she  shall  return  to  take  her 
place  again."  ^ 

I  The  last  installment  was  paid  in  iS;^,  and  the  last  unit  of  the  German  army  of 
occupation  was  then  withdrawn. 

-  The  Red  Republicans,  or  Communists,  of  Paris,  indisrnant  at  the  terms  of  the  treat)', 
organized  a  Committee  of  Public  i^afety  in  imitation  of  that  of  1703.  and  called  the 
population  of  the  capital  to  arms.  The  government  finally  succeeded  in  suppressing 
the  insurgents,  though  only  after  the  destruction  by  fire  of  many  public  buildings  and 
frightful  slaughters  in  the  streets  and  squares  of  the  city. 

•■f  Jordan,  .tlsucc-Lorrainc,  pp.  20-22. 


578        FRANXE  AFTER  SECOND  RESTORATION      [§822 

822.  The  Third  Republic  (i870-  ).  The  form  of  govern- 
ment which  replaced  the  Empire  was  republican.^  The  current  of 
political  events  under  the  Republic  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  War 
of  1914  ran  somewhat  turbulently.  There  were  many  changes  of 
presidents  and  of  ministries,  and  much  party  rancor  was  dis- 
played; yet  in  spite  of  all  untoward  circumstances  the  cause  of  the 
Republic  steadily  advanced,  while  that  of  the  Monarchy  and  of 
the  Empire  as  steadily  went  backward.  Bourbons  and  Bonapartes, 
like  Stuarts,  went  into  an  exile  from  which  there  was  no  return. 

Many  of  the  difficulties  and  problems  which  confronted  the 
Republic  were  legacies  to  it  from  the  ISIonarchy  and  the  Empire. 
The  most  fate-laden  legacy  of  the  war  that  destroyed  the  Empire 
was  the  Alsace-Lorraine  matter.  The  deep  resentment  felt  toward 
Germany  for  this  dismemberment  of  France,  together  with  the  fear 
of  further  German  aggression,  caused  the  French  government,  in 
1891,  to  enter  into  an  alliance  wMth  Russia, —  an  alliance  which, 
as  we  shall  see,  was  freighted  with  momentous  consequences. - 

A  second  legacy  to  the  Republic  was  influential  parties  of 
Monarchists  and  Imperialists,  who  endeavored  in  every  way  to 
discredit  the  republican  regime,  and  who  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  set  up  again  either  the  Monarchy  or  the  Empire. 
The  dangerous  intrigues  of  these  parties  led  in  1886  to  the  ex- 
pulsion from  France  of  all  the  Bourbon  and  Bonaparte  claimants 
of  the  throne  and  their  direct  heirs. 

A  third  bequest  from  the  ancient  regime  was  the  educational 
problem, —  for  education  of  the  people  is  the  corollary  of  govern- 
ment by  the  people.  Before  the  Revolution,  education  in  France 
was  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the  religious  orders.  The  Revolution 
swept  away  these  bodies  and  secularized  the  educational  sys- 
tem.   The  restoration  of  the  Monarchy  brought  about  also  the 

J  The  Constitution  of  the  Republic  is  not,  like  our  own,  a  single  document,  but  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  laws  passed  at  different  times.  It  provides  for  a  legislature  of  two 
chambers,  a  Senate  and  a  Chamber  of  Deputies,  a  President  elected  for  seven  years  by 
the  chambers  in  a  joint  meeting,  and  a  Cabinet  responsible  to  the  legislature.  The  suf- 
frage is  universal.  The  first  president  of  the  Kepulilic  was  M.  Thiers,  the  historian; 
M.  Millerand  was  inaugurated  as  the  eleventh  president  in  1020. 

2  This  dual  alliance  became  in  1907,  through  the  adhesion  of  England,  the  great 
Triple  Entente.   See  sect.  925. 


§822]  REFERENCES  579 

restoration  of  the  religious  orders.  The  system  of  education  was 
now  mixed,  being  in  part  lay  and  in  part  clerical.  Among  the 
Liberals  many  demanded  the  suppression  of  the  clerical  schools 
and  the  complete  secularization  of  education.  The  final  outcome 
of  this  fight  against  clerical  influence  in  education  and  civil  mat- 
ters was  a  complete  separation  of  Church  and  State  in  1905.  This 
meant  the  disestablishment  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  (and 
of  the  Protestant  and  Jewish  churches  as  well),  and  the  annul- 
ment of  the  Concordat  entered  into  between  Napoleon  and  the 
Pope  in  1802^  (sect.  785). 

As  to  the  part  taken  by  France  in  the  wonderful  industrial 
development  of  the  period  under  review,  and  in  recent  colonial 
enterprises,  particularly  in  the  opening  up  to  civilization  of  the 
continent  of  Africa,  we  shall  find  it  more  convenient  to  speak  in 
another  connection.-  With  the  opening  of  the  World  War  in  19 14, 
the  history  of  France  merges  for  a  time  with  that  of  Europe  and 
the  world  at  large.^ 

References.  In  most  of  the  works  cited  for  the  preceding  chapter  will  be 
found  chapters  and  sections  dealing  with  French  affairs  during  the  period 
under  review.  To  these  authorities  add  the  following:  Dickinson,  G.  L., 
Revolution  and  Reaction  in  JModem  France;  and  Lebon,  A.,  and  Pelet,  P., 
Prance  as  it  Is. 

For  the  Second  Empire  :  Forbes,  A.,  The  Life  of  N'apoleon  the  Third.  For 
brief  summaries  of  the  events  of  the  period  :  Lebon,  A.,  Modem  France,  chaps, 
viii-xvi ;  Adams,  G.  B.,  The  Gro'cvih  of  the  French  A'ation,  chap,  xviii ;  and 
Hassall,  a.,  The  French  People,  chaps,  xviii-xxi  and  xxiii. 

'  With  the  severance  of  all  connection  between  Church  and  .State,  the  payment  of 
the  salaries  of  the  clerj^y  by  the  government  ceased.  The  use  of  the  churches  is  left  free 
to  the  Catholics,  but  the  palaces  of  the  bishops  and  other  ecclesiastical  buildings  are 
now  devoted  to  educational  and  non-religious  purposes. 

A  new  disturbing  factor  in  French  public  life  of  the  period  under  review  was  .Xnti- 
Semitism,  a  systematic  effort  to  stir  public  feeling  against  the  Jews,  which  swept  over 
Europe  from  about  iSSo  onward.  A  Jewish  officer  in  the  French  army.  Captain  Drcvfus, 
was  held  guilty  of  treasonable  dealings  with  foreign  powers.  At  first  almost  everybody 
believed  the  charge ;  ultimately  it  proved  that  the  real  criminals  had  tried  to  screen 
themselves  by  accusing  him.  The  Dreyfus  case  dominated  French  politics  for  years, 
discrediting  group  after  group  of  politicians,  and  for  a  time  much  discrediting  the  gov- 
ernment, which  at  length  cleared  itself  by  providing  for  a  rehearing  and  a  just  judgment, 
and  by  making  handsome  amends  to  those  who  had  suffered  injustice. 

2. See  Chapter  L.XXV.  3  See  Chapter  I.XWII. 


CHAPTER  LXX 

ENGLAND  FROM  THE  BATTLE  OF  WATERLOO  TO  THE 
WORLD  WAR 

(1815-1914) 

823.  The  Four  Chief  Matters.  English  history  during  the 
hundred  years  between  the  battle  of  Waterloo  and  the  outbreak 
of  the  World  War  embraces  a  multitude  of  events.  A  short 
chapter  covering  the  entire  period  will  possess  no  instructive 
value  unless  it  reduces  the  great  mass  of  facts  to  some  sort  of 
unity  by  placing  events  in  relation  with  their  causes,  and  thus 
shows  how  they  are  connected  with  a  few  broad  movements  or 
tendencies. 

Studying  the  period  in  this  way,  we  shall  find  that  many 
of  its  leading  events  may  be  summed  up  under  the  four  follow- 
ing heads:  (i)  progress  toward  democracy;  (2)  extension  of 
the  principle  of  religious  equality;  (3)  England's  relations  with 
Ireland;  and  (4)   the  growth  of  the  British  colonial  empire. 

We  shall  attempt  nothing  more  in  the  present  chapter  than  to 
indicate  the  most  prominent  matters  that  should  claim  the  stu- 
dent's attention  along  the  first  three  lines  of  inquiry,  reserving 
for  later  sections  the  consideration  of  England's  colonial  affairs. 

I.  PROGRESS  TOWARD  DEMOCRACY 

824.  Introductory.  The  English  Revolution  of  1688  trans- 
ferred authority  from  the  king  to  the  Parliament.  The  elective 
branch  of  that  body,  however,  rested  upon  a  very  narrow  elec- 
toral basis.  Out  of  upwards  of  five  million  Englishmen  less  than 
two  hundred  thousand  were  voters,  and  these  were  chiefly  of  the 
rich  upper  classes.  The  political  democratizing  of  England  dur- 
ing  the  period   under   review   consists  in   the   widening   of   the 

580 


§825]  REFORM  VERSUS  REVOLUTION  581 

electorate, —  in  giving  substantially  to  every  adult  person,  without 
distinction  of  sex,  the  right  of  suffrage  and  of  participation  in  the 
conduct  of  public  affairs. 

825.  Effects  of  the  French  Revolution  upon  Liberalism  in 
England;  Reform  versus  Revolution.  The  French  Revolution 
at  first  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  liberal  tendencies.  The  English 
Liberals  watched  the  course  of  the  French  Republicans  with  the 
deepest  interest  and  sj^mpathy.  It  will  be  recalled  how  the  states- 
man Fox  rejoiced  at  the  fall  of  the  Bastille,  and  what  augu- 
ries of  hope  he  saw  in  that  event.  The  young  writers  Coleridge, 
Wordsworth,  and  Southey  were  all  infected  with  democratic  sen- 
timents and  inspired  with  a  generous  enthusiasm  for  political  lib- 
erty and  equality.  But  the  wild  excesses  of  the  French  levelers 
terrified  the  English  Liberals.  There  was  a  sudden  revulsion  of 
feeling.  Liberal  sentiments  were  denounced  as  dangerous  and 
revolutionary. 

But  in  a  few  years  after  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  the  terrors  of 
the  French  Revolution  were  forgotten.  Liberal  sentiments  began 
to  spread  among  the  masses.  The  people  very  justly  complained 
that,  while  the  English  government  claimed  to  be  a  government 
of  the  people,  they  had  no  part  in  it. 

Now,  it  is  instructive  to  note  the  different  ways  in  which 
Liberalism  was  dealt  with  by  the  English  government  and  by 
the  rulers  on  the  Continent.  In  the  Continental  countries  the 
rising  spirit  of  democracy  was  met  by  cruel  and  despotic  repres- 
sions. We  have  seen  the  result  of  this  policy  in  France,  and  later 
shall  see  the  outcome  of  it  in  other  Continental  countries.  Liber- 
alism triumphed  indeed  at  last,  but  triumphed  only  through 
revolution. 

In  England  the  government  did  not  resist  the  popular  demands 
to  the  point  of  revolution.  It  made  timely  concessions  to  the 
growing  spirit  of  democracy.  Hence  here,  instead  of  a  series  of 
revolutions,  we  have  a  series  of  reform  measures  which,  gradually 
popularizing  the  House  of  Commons,  at  last  rendered  the  Eng- 
lish nation,  not  alone  in  name  but  in  reality,  a  self-governing 
people. 


582  ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO  [§  826 

826.  The  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  The  first  Parliamentary  step 
in  reform  was  taken  in  1832.  To  understand  this  important  act 
a  glance  backward  becomes  necessary. 

When,  in  1265,  the  Commons  were  first  admitted  to  Parlia- 
ment, members  were  called  only  from  those  cities  and  boroughs 
whose  wealth  and  population  fairly  entitled  them  to  representa- 
tion. In  the  course  of  time  some  of  these  places  dwindled  in 
population  and  new  towns  sprang  up;  yet  the  decayed  boroughs 
retained  their  ancient  privilege  of  sending  members  to  Parlia- 
ment, while  the  new  towns  were  left  entirely  without  represen- 
tation. Thus  Old  Sarum,  an  ancient  town  now  utterly  decayed 
and  without  a  single  inhabitant,  was  represented  in  the  Commons 
by  two  members.  Furthermore,  the  sovereign,  for  the  purpose 
of  gaining  influence  in  the  Commons,  had,  from  time  to  time, 
given  unimportant  places  the  right  of  returning  members  to  the 
Lower  House.  It  was  inevitable  that  elections  in  these  small  places 
("pocket  boroughs,"  they  were  called)  should  almost  always 
be  determined  by  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  crown  or  of  the 
great  landowners.  The  Lower  House  of  Parliament  was  thus 
filled  with  the  nominees  of  the  king,  or  with  persons  who  had 
bought  their  seats,  often  with  little  effort  at  concealment.  At 
the  same  time,  such  large,  recently  grown  manufacturing  towns 
as  Birmingham,  Leeds,  and  Manchester  had  no  representation 
at  all  in  the  Commons. 

Agitation  was  begun  for  the  reform  of  this  corrupt  and  farcical 
system  of  representation.  The  contest  between  Whigs  and  Tories, 
or  Liberals  and  Conservatives,  was  long  and  bitter,  the  Conserva- 
tives opposing  all  reform  and  denying  that  there  was  any  neces- 
sity for  it.  At  last  public  feeling  became  so  strong  and  menacing 
that  the  Lords,  who  were  blocking  the  measure  in  the  Upper 
House,  were  forced  to  yield,  and  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832  became 
n  law.  By  this  act  the  English  electoral  system  was  radically 
changed.  Eighty-six  of  the  "rotten  boroughs"  were  disfran- 
chised or  semi-disfranchised,  and  the  hundred  and  forty-two  seats 
in  the  Lower  House  taken  from  them  were  given  to  different 
counties  and  to  large  towns  hitherto  unrepresented.    The  bill  also 


§  827]  MUNICIPAL  REFORM  ACT  583 

somewhat  increased  the  number  of  electors  by  extending  the  right 
of  voting  to  all  persons  in  the  towns  owning  or  leasing  property  of 
a  certain  value,  and  by  lowering  the  property  qualification  of 
voters  in  the  counties. 

The  importance  of  this  reform  bill  can  hardly  be  exaggerated. 
It  is  the  Magna  Carta  of  English  political  democracy.^ 

827.  The  Municipal  Reform  Act  of  1835.  The  government 
of  the  English  towns  of  this  period  needed  reform  as  urgently  as 
had  the  British  Parliament.  This  municipal  system  was  a  system 
inherited  from  the  Middle  Ages.  Most  of  the  towns  were  ruled  by 
corrupt  oligarchies.  Long  agitation  for  their  overthrow  resulted 
in  the  passing  of  the  Municipal  Reform  Act  of  1835.  This  act 
accomplished  for  the  government  of  the  cities  what  the  Reform  Bill 
of  1832  had  effected  for  the  general  government  of  the  kingdom. 

828.  Chartism  :  the  Revolutionary  Year  of  1848.  Although 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1832  was  almost  revolutionary  in  the  princi- 
ple it  established,  still  it  went  only  a  little  way  in  the  application 
of  that  principle.  It  admitted  to  the  franchise  the  middle  classes 
only.  The  great  laboring  class  were  given  no  part  in  the  govern- 
ment. They  now  began  an  agitation  characterized  by  much  bit- 
terness, and  known  as  Chartism,  from  a  document  called  the 
"People's  Charter,"  which  embodied  the  reforms  they  desired. 
Among  these  were  universal  suffrage  and  vote  by  ballot. 

The  agitation  went  on  with  more  or  less  violence  until  1848,  in 
which  year,  encouraged  by  the  revolutions  then  shaking  almost 

1  The  reform  of  the  House  of  Commons  gave  an  impulse  to  legislation  of  an  humani- 
tarian or  popular  character.  In  1833  an  act  was  passed  in  the  British  Commons  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery.  Nearly  800,000  slaves,  chiefly  in  the  British  ^^'est  Indies,  were  freed 
at  a  cost  to  the  English  nation  of  ^"20, 000,000.  This  same  year  (1833)  the  first  effective 
Factory  Act  was  passed.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  series  of  laws  which  gradually 
corrected  the  almost  incredible  abuses,  particularly  in  connection  with  the  employment 
of  children,  that  had  crept  into  the  English  facton.'  svstcm,  A  similar  series  of  laws 
regulated  labor  in  the  mines.  Also  this  same  year  Parliament  voted  an  annual  grant  of 
/'20,ooo  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  schoolhouses.  This  was  the  first  step  taken  by  the 
English  government  in  the  promotion  of  public  education.  In  1846  England,  by  the 
repeal  of  her  "com  laws,"  abandoned  the  commercial  policy  of  protection,  which  favored 
the  great  landowners,  and  adopted  that  of  free  trade.  The  chief  advocates  of  this  im- 
portant measure  were  Richard  Cobden  and  John  Bright.  The  enactment  of  the  law 
was  hastened  by  the  blight  of  the  potato  crop  in  Ireland  and  consequent  famine  in 
the  island, 


584 


ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO 


:  iJ  S29 


J*  v" 


^^^ 


every  throne  on  the  European  continent,  the  Chartists  indulged 
in  riotous  demonstrations,  which  frightened  the  law-abiding  citi- 
zens and  brought  discredit  upon  themselves.  Their  organization 
now  soon  fell  to  pieces.  The  reforms,  however,  which  they  had  la- 
bored to  secure,  were,  in  the  main,  desirable  and  just,  and  the 
most  important  of  these  reforms  have  since  been  adopted  and 

made  a  part  of  the  English 
constitution. 

829.  The  Reform  Bill  of 
1867  and  the  Education  Act 
of  1870.  The  Reform  Bill  of 
1867  was  simply  another  step 
taken  by  the  English  govern- 
ment in  the  direction  of  the 
ReformBillof  1832.  Likethat 
measure,  it  was  passed  only 
after  long  and  violent  agita- 
tion both  without  and  within 
the  walls  of  Parliament.  The 
main  effect  of  the  bill  was  the 
extension  of  the  right  of  vot- 
ing,—  the  enfranchisement  of 
the  great  "fourth  estate." 
As  after  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  so  now  the  attention  of  Par- 
liament was  directed  to  the  matter  of  public  instruction;  for  all 
recognized  that  universal  education  must  go  along  with  universal 
suffrage.  Three  years  after  the  passage  of  this  second  reform 
bill  Parliament  passed  an  education  act  (1870)  which  aimed  to 
provide  an  elementary  education  for  every  child  in  the  British 
Isles  by  investing  the  local  authorities  with  power  to  establish  and 
maintain  schools  and  compel  the  attendance  of  the  children. 

830.  The  Reform  Bill  of  1884.  One  of  the  conservative 
leaders,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  in  the  discussions  upon  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1867,  said,  "No  doubt  we  are  making  a  great  experiment, 
and  taking  a  leap  in  the  dark."  Just  seventeen  years  after  the 
passage  of  that  bill  the  English  people  were  ready  to  take  another 


Fk;.   137.      QuEEX   Victoria   as   a 

Young  Woman.   (After  a  painting  by 

Partridge) 


§831]  REFORM  OF  RURAL  GOVERNMENT  585 

leap.  But  they  were  not  now  leaping  in  the  dark.  The  wisdom 
and  safety  of  admitting  the  lower  classes  to  a  share  in  the  govern- 
ment had  been  demonstrated. 

In  1884  Mr.  Gladstone,  then  Prime  Minister,  introduced  and 
pushed  to  a  successful  vote  a  new  reform  bill  more  radical  and 
sweeping  in  its  provisions  than  any  preceding  one.  It  increased 
the  number  of  voters  from  about  three  millions  to  five  millions. 
The  qualification  of  voters  in  the  counties  was  made  the  same  as 
that  required  of  voters  in  the  boroughs.  Hence  its  effect  was  to 
enfranchise  the  great  agricultural   classes.^ 

831.  The  Reform  of  Rural  Local  Government.  Parliament 
and  the  government  of  the  municipalities  were  now  fairly  democ- 
ratized. The  rural  districts  were  the  last  to  feel  the  influence  of 
the  liberal  movement  that  was  so  profoundly  reconstructing  in 
the  interest  of  the  masses  the  governmental  institutions  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  But  the  movement  finally  reached  these,  and 
the  work  of  democratic  reconstruction  has  been  rounded  out  and 
completed  by  different  acts  of  Parliament,  which  have  put  more 
direct!}^  into  the  hands  of  the  people  of  each  of  the  smaller  sub- 
divisions of  the  realm  the  management  of  their  local  affairs. 

832.  The  "Veto"  of  the  House  of  Lords  Abolished  (i9ii). 
The  most  radical  change  in  the  English  constitution  since  the 
Reform  Bill  of  1S32  was  effected  in  191 1  by  an  act  w^hereby  the 
legislative  power  of  the  House  of  Lords  was  limited,  and  thus  its 
power  permanently  to  defeat  measures  approved  by  the  lower 
chamber  taken  away.-    The  veto  power,  as  it  may  be  termed,- 

1  The  democratization  of  the  electorate  was  virtually  completed,  under  the  stress  of 
the  World  War,  by  the  Representation  of  the  People  Act,  in  1918.  This  was  an  electoral 
law  which  went  further  than  any  earlier  similar  measure.  It  established  substantially 
manhood  suffrage,  the  propcrtj'  basis  for  men  being  virtually  abandoned,  and  gave  the 
vote  to  every  woman  thirty  years  of  age  or  over  "  who  occupies  a  home,  without  regard 
to  value,  or  any  landed  property  of  the  annual  value  of  ^^5,  of  which  she  or  her  husband 
is  the  tenant."  These  measures  doubled  the  electorate,  adding  8,000,000,  of  whom 
6,000,000  were  women,  to  the  body  of  voters. 

2  The  act,  which,  like  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  received  the  sanction  of  the  Upper 
House  only  through  a  threatened  creation  of  peers,  provides  that  bills  (other  than  certain 
bills  specified)  if  passed  by  the  House  of  Commons  in  three  successive  sessions,  —  a 
certain  order  of  procedure  being  observed, —  shall  become  law  without  the  concurrence 
of  the  Lords.  Cy  this  same  act  the  maximum  duration  of  Parliament  was  limited  to  five 
years  instead  of  seven. 


586  ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO  [§833 

of  the  Lords  was  annulled  because  it  had  been  used  by  them  to 
obstruct  or  defeat  reform  legislation  initiated  by  the  Liberals  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  The  particular  action  of  the  Lords 
which  created  the  crisis  was  their  rejection  of  a  budget  introduced 
by  David  Lloyd  George,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Increased 
revenue  being  needed  to  meet  the  cost  of  a  newly  inaugurated 
old-age  pension  policy  and  a  larger  navy,  the  budget  provided 
for  new  taxes  on  land,  inheritances,  and  large  incomes.  Passed 
by  the  Commons,  the  budget  was  rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords. 
This  action  of  the  Lords  was  denounced  by  the  Liberals  as  a  vio- 
lation of  the  Constitution,  it  being  held  that  money  bills  and 
taxation  were  matters  pertaining  exclusively  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Commons.  After  a  bitter  debate  and  an  appeal  by  the 
government  to  the  people  in  a  new  election,  the  Lords  finally 
yielded  and  passed  the  budget.  But  their  action  in  venturing  to 
obstruct  the  bill  had  so  alarmed  and  angered  the  Liberals  of  the 
Commons  that  they  now  resolved  to  curb  effectually  the  power 
of  the  Lords  over  legislation,  which  end  was  reached  by  the  act 
mentioned  above. 

This  reform  makes  the  will  of  the  English  people  as  expressed 
through  their  representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons  supreme 
and  independent,  since  the  veto  power  of  the  Crown  fell  into  disuse 
more  than  a  century  ago,  and  the  royal  assent  is  now  never  with- 
held from  a  bill  that  has  the  sanction  of  Parliament, 

IL  EXTENSION  OF  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  RELIGIOUS 
EQUALITY 

833.  Religious  Freedom  and  Religious  Equality.  Alongside 
the  political  movement  traced  in  the  preceding  sections  ran  a  simi- 
lar one  in  the  religious  realm.  This  was  a  growing  recognition  by 
the  English  people  of  the  true  principle  of  religious  toleration. 

At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  in  England 
religious  freedom,  but  no  religious  equality.  That  is  to  say,  one 
might  be  a  Roman  Catholic  or  a  Protestant  dissenter  without  fear 
of  persecution.    Dissent   from   the   Established   Church   was   not 


§  834]  REPEAL  OF  CORPORATION  AND  TEST  ACTS    587 

unlawful ;  but  one's  being  a  Roman  Catholic  or  a  Protestant  non- 
conformist disqualified  him  from  holding  certain  public  offices. 
Where  there  exists  such  discrimination  against  any  religious  sect, 
or  where  any  one  sect  is  favored  or  sustained  by  the  government, 
there  of  course  is  no  religious  equality,  although  there  may  be 
religious  freedom. 

Progress  in  this  direction,  then,  will  consist  in  the  growth  of  a 
really  tolerant  spirit,  which  shall  lead  to  the  removal  of  all  civil 
disabilities  from  Catholics,  Protestant  dissenters,  and  Jews,  and 
the  placing  of  all  sects  on  an  absolute  equality  before  the  law. 

834.  Disabilities  removed  from  Protestant  Dissenters  (iszs). 
One  of  the  earliest  and  most  important  of  the  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment in  this  century  in  recognition  of  the  principle  of  religious 
equality  was  the  repeal  of  the  Corporation  and  Tests  acts,  in 
so  far  as  they  bore  upon  Protestant  dissenters.  These  were  acts 
passed  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  which  required  every  munici- 
pal officer,  and  all  persons  holding  civil  and  military  positions, 
to  take  certain  oaths  and  partake  of  the  communion  according 
to  the  rites  of  the  Anglican  Church.  It  is  true  that  these  laws 
were  not  now  strictly  enforced ;  nevertheless,  the  laws  were 
invidious  and  vexatious,  and  the  Protestant  dissenters  demanded 
their  repeal. 

Those  opposed  to  the  repeal  argued  that  the  principle  of  reli- 
gious toleration  did  not  require  it.  They  insisted  that,  where 
everyone  has  perfect  freedom  of  worship,  it  is  no  infringement 
of  the  principle  of  toleration  for  the  government  to  refuse  to 
employ  as  a  public  servant  one  who  dissents  from  the  State 
Church.  The  result  of  the  debate  in  Parliament  was  the  repeal 
of  such  parts  of  the  ancient  acts  as  it  was  necessary  to  rescind  in 
order  to  relieve  Protestant  dissenters. 

835.  Disabilities  removed  from  Roman  Catholics  (1829). 
The  bill  of  1828  gave  no  relief  to  Catholics.  They  were  still 
excluded  from  Parliament  and  various  civil  offices  by  the  decla- 
rations of  belief  and  the  oaths  required  of  officeholders, —  decla- 
rations and  oaths  which  no  good  Catholic  could  conscientiously 
make.     Thev    now    demanded    that    the    same    concessions    be 


588  ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO  L§  «^36 

made  them  that  had  been  granted  Protestant  dissenters.  A  threat- 
ened revolt  on  the  part  of  the  Irish  Cathohcs  hurried  through 
Parliament  the  progress  of  what  was  known  as  the  "  Catholic 
Emancipation  Act."  This  law  opened  Parliament  and  all  offices 
below  the  Crown, — save  that  of  Regent,  of  Lord  High  Chancellor 
of  England  and  Ireland,  of  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  and  a  few 
others,— to  the  Catholic  subjects  of  the  realm. 

836,  Disabilities  removed  from  the  Jews  (issa).  Persons 
professing  the  Jewish  religion  were  still  laboring  under  all  the 
disabilities  which  had  now  been  removed  from  Protestant  dis- 
senters and  Catholics.  In  1858  an  act  (Jewish  Relief  Act)  was 
passed  by  Parliament  which  so  changed  the  oath  required  of  a 
person  taking  office — the  oath  contained  the  words,  "upon  the 
true  faith  of  a  Christian" — as  to  open  all  public  positions,  except 
a  few  special  offices,  to  persons  of  the  Jewish  faith. 

The  year  of  the  passage  of  the  act,  the  distinguished  Jew  Baron 
Rothschild,  taking  the  oath  of  office  upon  the  Old  Testament, 
was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

837.  Disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church  (i869).  Forty 
years  after  the  Catholic  Emancipation  Act  the  English  govern- 
ment took  another  great  step  in  the  direction  of  religious  equality 
by  the  disestablishment  of  the  State  Church  in  Ireland. 

The  Irish  have  always  and  steadily  refused  to  accept  the  religion 
which  their  English  conquerors  have  somehow  felt  constrained  to 
try  to  force  upon  them.  The  vast  majority  of  the  people  are 
today,  and  ever  have  been,  Catholics ;  yet  up  to  the  time  where 
we  have  now  arrived  these  Irish  Catholics  had  been  compelled 
to  pay  tithes  and  fees  for  the  maintenance  among  them  of  the 
Anglican  Church  worship.  Meanwhile  all  their  own  churches,  in 
which  the  great  masses  were  instructed  and  cared  for  spiritually, 
had  to  be  kept  up  by  voluntary  contributions. 

The  rank  injustice  in  thus  forcing  the  Irish  Catholics  to  sup- 
port not  merely  a  Church  in  which  they  did  not  believe  but  a 
Church  which  they  regarded  with  special  aversion  and  hatred  as 
the  symlx)]  of  their  subjection  and  persecution,  was  perceived 
and  declaimed  against  by  not  a  few  even  among  the  English 


§  s.^s] 


DISESTABLISHMENT  PROPOSALS 


589 


Protestants  themselves.  The  proposal  to  do  away  with  this 
grievance  by  the  disestablishment  of  the  State  Church  in  Ireland 
was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  Conservatives,  headed  by  Lord  Derby 
and  Mr.  Disraeli ;  but  at  length,  after  a  memorable  debate, 
the  Liberals,  under  the  lead 

of    Bright    and    Gladstone,  x^^^c^j^^      ^ 

the  latter  then  Prime  Min- 
ister, carried  the  measure. 
This  was  in  1869,  but  the 
actual  disestablishment  was 
not  to  take  place  until  the 
year  1871,  at  which  time 
the  Irish  Church,  ceasing  to 
exist  as  a  state  institution, 
became  a  free  Episcopal 
Church.  x'Vn  ancient  wrong 
was  thus  undone.' 

838.  Proposed  Disestab- 
lishment of  the  State 
Church  in  England  and 
Scotland.  The  principle  of 
religious  equality  demands, 
in  the  opinion  of  many  Lib- 
erals, the  disestablishment 
likewise  of  the  State  Church 
in  England  and  Scotland. - 
They  feel  that  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  maintain  any 
particular  sect  is  to  give  the 

state  a  monopoly  in  religion.  They  would  have  the  churches 
of  all  denominations  placed  on  an  absolute  equality.  Especially 
in  Scotland  is  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  disestablishment  very 
strong. 

^  In  1914,  just  before  the  outbrenk  of  the  World  War,  the  Britisli  Parhamcnt  passed 
a  bill  disestablishing  the  Church  in  Wales,  but  the  carr)'ing  into  efTect  of  the  bill  was 
postponed  until  after  the  end  of  the  vnr.- 

2  The  Established  Church  in  Scotland  is  the  Presbyterian. 


Fig.  138.    Lord  Beacoxsfield  (Uis- 

kap:li),  "  The  Courtier  Premier  " 

(From  the  monument  in  Westminster 

Abbey) 


590  ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO  [§839 

III.  ENGLAND'S  RELATIONS  WITH  IRELAND 

839.  Legislative  Union  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  (isoo). 
The  history  of  Ireland  in  the  nineteenth  century,  like  her  history 
in  all  preceding  centuries,  is  in  the  main  a  story  of  Irish  grievances 
against  England.  These  grievances  have  for  the  most  part  arisen 
out  of  three  distinct  yet  closely  related  subject-matters, —  religion, 
Home  Rule,  and  the  land.  Concerning  the  religious  grievances 
of  the  Irish  and  their  redress  we  have  already  spoken  in  connec- 
tion with  the  general  religious  emancipation  movement  in  Eng- 
land. For  any  kind  of  understanding  of  the  subject  of  Irish 
Home  Rule  a  glance  backward  at  Irish  parliamentary  history 
is  necessary. 

Ireland,  it  will  be  recalled,  secured  legislative  independence  of 
England  in  1782  (sect.  728).  When,  a  little  later.  Napoleon  came 
to  the  head  of  affairs  in  France,  there  was  apprehension  on  the 
part  of  English  statesmen  lest  he  should  utilize  Irish  discontent 
to  secure  a  foothold  in  the  islands.  As  a  measure  of  precaution 
the  English  government  resolved  to  get  rid  of  the  Irish  Parliament. 
By  wholesale  bribery  its  members  were  induced  to  pass  a  sort  of 
self-denying  ordinance  whereby  the  Parliament  was  abolished,  or 
rather  merged  with  that  of  Great  Britain,  Ireland  being  given 
representation  at  Westminster.  The  two  islands  were  henceforth 
to  bear  the  name  of  "The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland." 

840.  Agitation  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Union.  The  great  body 
of  Irish  patriots  did  not  at  the  time  of  these  transactions  admit, 
nor  have  they  at  any  time  since  admitted,  the  validity  of  the  Act 
of  Union  whereby  their  Parliament  was  taken  from  them.  In  the 
early  forties  the  agitation  for  the  repeal  of  the  Union  and  the 
reestablishment  of  their  native  legislature  assumed,  under  the  in- 
citement of  the  eloquence  of  the  Irish  patriot  Daniel  O'Connell, 
almost  the  character  of  a  rebellion.  Some  years  later,  in  the 
sixties,  the  agitation  was  carried  to  the  point  of  actual  insurrec- 
tion, but  the  movement  was  suppressed  and  its  leaders  were 
punished. 


§841]  HOME  RULE  FOR  IRELAND  591 

84L  Gladstone  and  Home  Rule  for  Ireland.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  Irish  question  was  again  to  the  front.  In  1886  Wil- 
liam Ewart  Gladstone  became  for  the  third  time  Prime  Minister. 
Almost  his  first  act  was  the  introduction  in  the  Commons  of  a 


Fig.  139.   William  Ewakt  Gladstone.    (After  a  painting  by  Ztv/A/r//) 

Home  Rule  bill  for  Ireland.  The  main  feature  of  this  measure 
was  an  Irish  legislature  sitting  at  Dublin,  to  which  was  to  be 
intrusted  the  management  of  all  exclusively  Irish  affairs. 

The  chief  arguments  urged  by  the  opponents  of  the  bill  were 
that  an  Irish  legislature  would  deal  unfairly  with  English  landlords 
in  Ireland,  would  oppress  the  Irish  Protestants,  and,  above  all,  in 
time  of  national  distress  would  sever  Ireland  from  the  British 
Empire.  After  a  long  debate  the  bill  was  rejected  by  the  Commons. 


592  ENGLAND  AFTER  WATERLOO  [S  842 

In  1893  Gladstone,  being  then  Premier  for  the  fourth  time, 
brought  in  a  new  Home  Rule  bill,  which  in  its  essential  features 
was  like  his  first.  The  bill  passed  the  Commons,  but  was  rejected 
by  the  House  of  Lords.  The  following  year,  owing  to  the  infirmi- 
ties of  advanced  age,  Gladstone  laid  down  the  burdens  of  the 
premiership  and  retired  from  public  life.  He  died  in  1898  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight,  and,  amidst  unusual  demonstrations  of  na- 
tional grief,  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey.  His  name  has  a 
sure  place  among  the  great  names  in  English  history. 

842.  Agrarian  Troubles  and  Agrarian  Legislation.  Before 
the  relief  legislation,  of  which  we  shall  speak  directly,  very  much 
of  Irish  misery  and  discontent  arose  from  absentee  landlordism. 
A  great  part  of  the  soil  of  Ireland  was  owned  by  a  few  hundred 
English  proprietors,  who  represented  in  the  main,  either  as  heirs 
or  as  purchasers,  those  English  and  Scotch  settlers  to  whom  the 
lands  taken  away  from  the  natives  were  given  at  the  time  of  the 
Cromwellian  and  other  Protestant  "settlements"  of  the  island. 
It  was  often  the  case  that  the  agents  of  these  absentee  landlords 
dealt  harshly  with  their  tenants  and  exacted  as  rent  every  penny 
that  could  be  wrung  from  their  poverty.  If  a  tenant  made  im- 
provements upon  the  land  he  tilled,  and  by  ditching  and  subduing 
it  increased  its  productive  power,  straightway  his  rent  was  raised. 
If  he  failed  to  pay  the  higher  rent,  he  was  evicted.  The  records  of 
"eviction  "  form  a  sad  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Irish  peasantry. 

A  long  series  of  Irish  land  laws  marks  the  efforts  of  the  British 
Parliament  to  alleviate  the  distress  of  the  Irish  tenant  farmers. 
In  1903  an  Irish  land-purchase  bill,  more  sweeping  and  liberal 
than  any  preceding  measure,  was  enacted  into  a  law.  This  law 
differed  from  earlier  ones  in  the  provision  that  peasants  desiring 
to  buy  their  holdings  should  be  aided,  not  merely  by  a  government 
loan  on  long  time  and  at  low  interest,  but  further  by  the  govern- 
ment's paying  a  part  of  the  purchase  price.  This  liberal 
measure,  gradually  carried  into  effect  during  the  earlier  years  of 
the  twentieth  century,  has  converted  the  great  body  of  Irish 
tenants  into  proprietors,  and  thus  has  revolutionized  the  relation 
of  the  Irish  peasantry  to  the  Irish  soil. 


§843]  THIRD  IRISH  HOME  RULE  BILL  593 

843.  The  Third  Irish  Home  Rule  Bill  (1914).  But  land 
reforms,  together  with  other  measures  of  relief,  proved  ineffectual 
to  quiet  the  agitation  for  a  separate  Irish  Parliament.  In  the 
early  years  of  the  twentieth  century  the  subject  was  again  before 
the  Commons,  and  a  third  Home  Rule  bill  was  framed  and  intro- 
duced ( 1912 ) .  The  "  veto  "  power  of  the  Lords,  the  rock  on  which 
Gladstone's  last  Home  Rule  bill  had  been  wrecked,  had  been 
abolished  (sect.  832),  but  an  even  greater  obstacle  to  the  success 
of  the  measure  now  was  the  stubborn  opposition  of  the  Protes- 
tants of  Ulster,  in  northeast  Ireland.  They  even  threatened  to 
revolt  if  any  attempt  were  made  to  put  them  under  the  rule  of  an 
Irish  Parliament.  On  the  other  hand,  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  Ireland  objected  strenuously  to  any  sort  of  Home  Rule  which 
did  not  apply  alike  to  all  Ireland. 

Finally,  after  bitter  debate,  the  bill,  having  been  passed  in 
three  successive  sessions  of  the  Commons  (being  each  time  re- 
jected by  the  Lords),  received  the  signature  of  the  king;  but  be- 
fore the  law  became  operative,  the  great  European  conflict  had 
begun,  and  the  establishment  of  the  new  regime  was  postponed 
until  after  the  war.' 

References.  For  Parliamentary  reform :  May,  T.  E.,  The  Constitutional 
HistoTyi  of  England,  2  vols.;  Gammage,  R.  G.,  Histoij  of  the  Chaiiist  Move- 
ment, /Ssy-/Si4  ;  McCarthy,  J.,  The  Epoch  of  Reform  ;  Carlyle,  T.,  Chajiism. 

For  Irish  matters:  Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  Nisto/y  of  Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth 
Centur)',  vol.  v,  chaps,  xii  and  xiii  (for  the  legislative  union  of  England  and 
Ireland) ;  Two  Centuries  of  Irish  History,  i6gi-i8yo,  by  different  writers,  with 
an  Introduction  by  James  Bryce ;  Dicey,  E.,  England's  Case  against  Home 
A'ule;   King.  D.  B.,  The- Irish  Question. 

Biographies:  Mori.EV,  J.,  The  Life  of  William  E'u^art  Gladstone,  3  vols. 
Bran  PES,  G.,  Lord  Peaconsfield. 

For  the  social,  intellectual,  and  industrial  life  of  the  period  :  Traill,  H.  I)., 
Social  England,  vol.  vi ;  and  Cheyney,  E.  P.,  An  Introductioti  to  the  Industrial 
and  Social  History  of  England,  chaps,  viii-x.  For  a  general  review  of  the  events 
of  the  period:  McCarthy,  J.,  Histon'  of  Our  Chen  Times  (various  editions). 

1  This  delay  caused  great  bitterness  in  Ireland,  and  the  end  of  the  war  found  the  Irish 
problem  more  acute  than  ever,  with  a  strong  party,  known  as  Sinn  Feiners,  demanding 
absolute  independence  from  Great  Britain.  In  1021  a  new  Home  Rule  bill  which  pro- 
vided for  two  Irish  Parliaments,  one  for  Protestant  Ulster  and  another  for  the  rest  of 
Ireland,  having  received  the  royal  assent,  came  into  operation. 


CHAPTER  LXXI 
THE  LIBERATION  AND  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY 

844.  Italy  at  the  Downfall  of  Napoleon.  The  Italian  peoples, 
as  being  the  most  dangerously  infected  with  the  ideas  of  the  Revo- 
lution, were,  by  the  reactionary  Congress  of  Vienna,  condemned 
to  the  most  strict  and  ignominious  slavery.  The  former  republics 
were  not  allowed  to  restore  their  ancient  institutions,  while  the 
petty  principalities  were  handed  over  in  almost  every  case  to  the 
tyrants  or  to  the  heirs  of  the  tyrants  who  had  ruled  them  before 
the  Revolution.  Austria,  as  has  already  been  stated  (sect.  812), 
appropriated  Venetia  and  Lombardy,  and  from  northern  Italy 
assumed  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  whole  peninsula.  The  Italians 
were  thus  made  "a  Helot  nation."  Italy,  in  the  words  of  Metter- 
nich,  was   merely  "a  geographical   expression." 

But  the  Revolution  had  sown  the  seeds  of  liberty,  and  time  only 
was  needed  for  their  maturing.  The  Cisalpine,  Ligurian,  Parthe- 
nopean,  and  Tiberine  republics,  short-lived  though  they  were,  had 
awakened  in  the  people  an  aspiration  for  self-government ;  while 
Napoleon's  kingdom  of  Italy,  though  equally  delusive,  had  never- 
theless inspired  thousands  of  Italian  patriots  with  the  sentiment 
of  national  unity.  Thus  the  French  Revolution,  disappointing  as 
seemed  its  issue,  really  imparted  to  Italy  her  first  impulse  in  the 
direction  of  freedom  and  national  organization. 

845.  Arbitrary  Rule  of  the  Restored  Princes.  The  setting  up 
of  the  overturned  thrones  meant,  of  course,  the  reinstating  of  the 
old  tyrannies.  The  restored  despots  came  back  with  an  impla- 
cable hatred  of  everything  French.  The  liberal  constitutions  of 
the  revolutionary  period  were  set  aside,  and  all  French  institu- 
tions that  were  supposed  to  tend  in  the  least  to  liberalism  were 
swept  away.  In  Sardinia,  King  Victor  Emmanuel  I,  the  "royal 
Rip  Van  Winkle,"  instituted  a  most  extreme  reactionary  policy. 

594 


§846]  THE  UPRISINGS  OF  1820-1821  595 

Nothing  that  bore  the  French  stamp,  nothing  that  had  been  set  up 
by  French  hands,  was  allowed  to  remain.  Even  the  French  furni- 
ture in  the  royal  palace  at  Turin  was  thrown  out  of  the  windows, 
and  the  French  plants  in  the  royal  gardens  were  pulled  up  root 
and  branch. 

846.  The  Uprisings  of  1820-1821.  The  natural  result  of  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  the  restored  princes  was  deep  and  widespread  dis- 
content. In  the  revolutionary  years  1820-182 1  there  were  insur- 
rections in  Naples  and  Sardinia.  But  these  movements  were 
quickly  suppressed  through  the  actual  or  threatened  intervention 
of  Austrian  armies,  and  the  autocratic  princes  confirmed  in  their 
absolute  authority. 

The  suppression  of  the  Liberal  uprisings  seemed  to  Mettemich 
the  sure  pledge  of  divine  favor.  He  writes  exultantly :  "  I  see  the 
dawn  of  a  better  day.  .  .  .  Heaven  seems  to  will  that  the  world 
should  not  be  lost." 

847.  The  Revolution  of  1830-1831.  For  just  ten  years  all 
Italy  lay  in  sullen  vassalage  to  Austria.  Then  the  revolutionary 
years  of  1830-183 1  witnessed  a  repetition  of  the  scenes  of  1820- 
1821.  The  center  of  the  revolution  was  the  Papal  States.  But 
the  presence  of  Austrian  troops,  who,  "true  to  their  old  principle 
of  hurrying  with  their  extinguishers  to  any  spot  in  Italy  where 
a  crater  opened,"  had  poured  into  central  Italy,  resulted  in  the 
speedy  quenching  of  the  flames  of  the  insurrection. 

848.  The  Three  Parties.  Twice  now  had  Austrian  armies 
defeated  the  efforts  of  the  Italians  for  national  unity  and  freedom. 
Italian  hatred  of  these  foreign  intermeddlers  who  were  causing 
them  to  miss  their  destiny  grew  ever  more  intense,  and  "  Death  to 
the  Ciermans !  "  as  the  Austrians  were  called,  became  the  watch- 
word that  united  all  the  peoples  of  the  peninsula. 

But,  while  united  in  their  fierce  hatred  of  the  Austrians,  the 
Italians  were  divided  in  their  views  respecting  the  best  plan  for 
national  organization.  One  party  wanted  a  confederation  of  the 
various  states ;  a  second  party  wished  to  see  Italy  a  constitutional 
monarchy  with  the  king  of  Sardinia  at  its  head  ;  while  still  a  third, 
known  as  "Voung  Italy."  wanted  a  republic. 


596  THE  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY  [§849 

849.  Joseph  Mazzini,  the  Patriot  and  Prophet.  The  leader 
of  the  third  or  republican  party  was  the  patriot  Joseph  Mazzini. 
Mazzini  was  not  a  narrow  nationahst.  He  recognized  the  univer- 
sal character  of  the  democratic  revolution.  The  people  were 
oppressed  not  only  in  Italy  but  in  Spain,  in  Hungary,  in  Poland, 
in  Russia,  in  Turkey, — almost  everywhere,  in  truth.  Their  cause 
was  a  common  cause.  In  opposition  to  the  Holy  Alliance  of  the 
princes  formed  with  aim  to  oppress,  there  must  be  a  Holy  Alliance 
of  the  peoples  formed  with  aim  to  emancipate.  The  French  Revo- 
lution, he  said,  had  proclaimed  the  liberty,  equality,  and  fra- 
ternity of  individual  men ;  the  new  revolution  should  proclaim 
the  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  of  nations. 

In  this  great  work  of  the  emancipation  and  unification  of  the 
world,  Italy  was  to  be  head  and  guide  of  the  nations.  To  her 
this  post  of  leadership  was  assigned  by  virtue  of  her  leadership 
in  the  past.  Once  pagan  Rome  organized  and  ruled  the  world. 
Then  papal  Rome  organized  and  ruled  it  for  a  thousand  years. 
Now  a  third  world  union  was  to  be  formed,  and  of  this  union 
of  the  free  and  federated  nations  Italy,  Italy  as  a  republic, 
was  to  be  center  and  head.  The  first  Rome  was  the  Rome  of 
the  Caesars  ;  the  second  was  the  Rome  of  the  Popes  ;  the  third  was 
to  be  the  Rome  of  the  Italian  People. 

Such  was  Mazzini's  interpretation  of  the  drama  of  world  history. 
Such  was  his  splendid  ideal.  Through  kindling  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  Italian  youth,  awakening  the  sentiment  of  jxitriotism,  and 
keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  insurrection,  Mazzini  rendered  a  great 
service  to  the  cause  of  Italian  liberation  and  union. 

850.  The  Revolution  of  1848-1849.  After  the  suppression  of 
the  uprising  of  1830  until  the  approach  of  the  memorable  year 
1848,  Italy  lay  restless  under  the  heel  of  her  oppressor.  The 
republican  movements  throughout  Europe  which  characterized 
that  year  of  revolutions  encouraged  the  Italian  patriots  in  another 
attempt  to  achieve  independence  and  nationality.  Everywhere 
throughout  the  peninsula  they  rose  against  their  reactionary  and 
despotic  rulers  and  forced  them  to  grant  constitutions  and  in- 
stitute reforms. 


§851] 


VICTOR  EMMANUEL  II 


597 


But  through  the  intervention  of  the  Austrians  and  the  French 
the  third  Italian  revolution  was  brought  to  naught.  This  inter- 
ference by  the  French  in  Italian  affairs  was  prompted  by  their 
jealousy  of  Austria  and  the  desire  of  Louis  Napoleon  to  win  the 
good  will  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  France. 

Much,  however,  had  been  gained.  The  patriots  had  been  taught 
the  necessity  of  united  action.  Henceforward  all  were  more 
inclined  to  look  upon  the  kingdom  of 
Sardinia  as  the  only  possible  basis 
and  nucleus  of  a  free  and  united 
Italy. 

851.  Victor  Emmanuel  II,  Count 
Cavour,  and  Garibaldi.  Sardinia  was 
a  state  which  had  gradually  grown 
into  power  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  peninsula.  The  throne  was  at  this 
time  held  by  Victor  Emmanuel  II 
( 1 849-1 878),  the  only  constitutional 
ruler  in  Italy.  To  him  it  was  that  the 
hopes  of  the  Italian  patriots  now 
turned.  Nor  were  these  hopes  to  be 
disappointed.  V^ictor  Emmanuel  was 
the  destined  liberator  of  Italy,  or  per- 
haps it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  his  was  the  name  in 
which  the  achievement  was  to  be  effected  by  the  wise  policy  of 
his  great  minister  Count  Cavour  and  the  reckless  daring  of  the 
national  hero  Garibaldi. 

Count  Cavour  was  the  Bismarck  of  Italy, — one  of  those  great 
men  who  during  this  formative  period  in  the  life  of  the  European 
peoples  have  earned  the  title  of  Nation  INIakers.  He  was  lacking 
in  oratorical  and  poetic  gifts.  "  I  cannot  make  a  sonnet,"  he  said, 
"but  I  can  make  Italy," — an  utterance  suggested  doubtless  by 
that  of  the  Athenian  statesman  (Themistocles)  who  boasted  that 
though  "he  knew  nothing  of  music  and  song,  he  did  know  how  of 
a  mean  city  to  make  a  great  one."  Cavour  was  the  real  maker 
of  modern  Italy. 


Fig.  140.    Count  Cavour 
(From  an  engraving) 


598  THE  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY  [§  852 

Garibaldi,  "the  hero  of  the  red  shirt,"  the  knight-errant  of 
Itah'an  independence,  was  a  most  remarkable  character.  Though 
yet  barely  past  middle  life,  he  had  led  a  career  singularly  crowded 
with  varied  experiences  and  romantic  adventures.  Because  of 
his  violent  republicanism  he  had  already  been  twice  exiled 
from  Italy. 

852.  Sardinia  in  the  Crimean  War.  In  1855,  i"  pursuance  of 
a  far-sighted  policy,  Cavour  sent  a  Sardinian  contingent  of  fifteen 
thousand  men  to  aid  England  and  France  against  Russia  in  the 
Crimean  War  (sect.  878),  with  the  two  chief  aims  of  giving  Sar- 
dinia a  standing  among  the  powers  of  Europe,  and  of  earning  the 
gratitude  of  England  and  France,  so  that  the  Italians  in  their 
future  struggles  with  Austria  might  not  have  to  fight  their  battles 
alone. 

A  little  incident  in  the  trenches  of  the  allies  before  Sevastopol 
shows  in  what  spirit  the  Sardinians  had  gone  to  the  war.  A  soldier, 
covered  with  mud  and  wearied  with  the  everlasting  digging,  com- 
plained to  his  superior  officer.  "Never  mind,"  was  the  consoling 
reply  ;  "it  is  with  this  mud  that  Italy  is  to  be  made." 

853.  Cavour  prepares  for  War  with  Austria.  Soon  after  the 
close  of  the  Crimean  War,  Cavour  received  from  the  French  Em- 
peror Napoleon  III  a  promise  that  a  French  army,  when  the  favor- 
able moment  arrived,  would  aid  the  Sardinians  in  driving  the 
Austrians  out  of  Italy.  In  this  proffer  of  help  the  French  Em- 
peror was  actuated  less  by  gratitude  for  the  aid  of  the  Sardinian 
contingent  in  the  war  against  Russia  than  by  a  desire  to  lessen 
the  power  of  Austria  in  Italy  and  to  replace  it  by  French  influence, 
and  to  secure  Savoy  and  Nice,  which  were  to  be  France's  reward 
for  her  intervention  in  Sardinia's  behalf. 

854.  The  Austro-Sardinian  War  (1859-1860).  Sardinia  now 
began  to  arm.  Austria,  alarmed  at  these  demonstrations,  called 
upon  Sardinia  to  disarm  immediately,  u]ion  threat  of  war.  Cavour 
eagerly  accepted  the  challenge.  The  French  armies  were  joined 
to  those  of  Sardinia.  The  two  great  victories  of  Magenta  and 
Solferino  drove  the  Austrians  out  of  Lombardy.  Just  at  this  junc- 
ture the  menacing  attitude  of  Prussia  and  other  German  states. 


ITALY 

1814-1859 

60  •) 

Scale  of  Milei 
Longllude      Ext      14    tnta      Ortcnwloh    16 


855" 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNIFICATION 


599 


which  were  alarmed  at  the  prospective  aggrandizement  of  France, 
and  the  rapid  spread  of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  Italy,  which 
foreshadowed  the  union  of  all  the  states  of  the  peninsula  in  a  single 
kingdom, — something  which  Louis  Napoleon  did  not  wish  to  see 
consummated/ — this  new  situation  of  things,  in  connection  with 
other  considerations,  caused  the  French  Emperor  to  draw  back 
and  to  enter  upon  negotiations  of  peace  with  the  Austrian  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  at  Villafranca. 

The  outcome  was  that  Austria 
retained  Venice,  but  gave  up  to 
Sardinia  the  larger  part  of  Lom- 
bardy.  The  Sardinians  were  bit- 
terly disappointed  that  they  did 
not  get  Venetia,  since  at  the  out- 
set the  French  Emperor  had  de- 
clared that  he  would  free  Italy 
from  the  "Alps  to  the  Adriatic." 

But  Sardinia  found  compen- 
sation for  Venice  in  the  acces- 
sion of  Tuscany,  Modena,  Parma, 
and  the  Romagna,  the  peoples  of 
which  states,  having  discarded 
their  old  rulers,  besought  Victor 

Emmanuel  to  permit  them  to  unite  themselves  to  his  kingdom. 
'I'hus,  as  the  result  of  the  war,  the  king  of  Sardinia  had  added  to 
his  subjects  a  population  of  seven  millions.  A  long  step  had  been 
taken  in  the  way  of  Italian  unity  and  freedom. 

855.  Sicily  and  Naples,  with  Umbria  and  the  Marches,  added 
to  Victor  Emmanuel's  Kingdom  (iseo).  The  adventurous  daring 
of  the  hero  Garibaldi  now  added  Sicily  and  Naples,  and  indirectly 
Umbria  and  the  Marches,  to  the  possessions  of  Victor  Emmanuel, 
and  changed  the  kingdom  of  Sardinia  into  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 

1  Napoleon  III  did  not  wish  for  a  united  Italy  any  more  than  he  wished  for  a  united 
Germany.  His  aim  was  to  create  a  kingdom  in  northern  Italy  which  would  exclude 
Austria  from  the  peninsula  and  then  to  bring  about  a  confederation  of  all  the  Italian 
states  under  the  presidency  of  the  Pope.  Italy  thus  reconstructed  would,  he  conceived, 
be  fain  to  look  to  the  French  Emperor  as  her  champion  and  patron. 


Fi(i.  141.    (iAKiBALui.    (From  an 
engraving) 


6oo  THE  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY  L§  856 

All  this  took  place  under  the  following  circumstances.  In  i860 
the  subjects  of  the  Bourbon  Francis  II,  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
rose  in  revolt.  Garibaldi,  favored  by  the  connivance  of  the 
Sardinian  government,  having  gathered  a  band  of  a  thousand 
volunteers,  set  sail  from  Genoa  for  Sicily,  where  upon  landing  he 
assumed  the  title  of  Dictator  of  Sicily  for  Victor  Emmanuel,  King 
of  Italy,  and  quickly  drove  the  troops  of  King  Francis  out  of 
the  island.  Then  crossing  to  the  mainland  he  marched  trium- 
phantly to  Naples,  whose  inhabitants  hailed  him  tumultuously  as 
their  deliverer. 

Count  Cavour  saw  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  Sardinian 
government  openly  to  assume  guidance  of  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment. The  papal  territories  and  Naples  were  accordingly  occupied 
by  a  regular  Sardinian  army.  Meanwhile  a  plebiscite,  or  popular 
vote,  having  been  ordered,  the  papal  lands  of  Umbria  and  the 
Marches,  together  with  Naples,  and  Sicily,  voted  almost  unani- 
mously for  annexation  to  the  Sardinian  kingdom. 

Thus  was  another  long  step  taken  in  the  unification  of  Italy, 
Nine  millions  more  of  Italians  had  become  the  subjects  of  Victor 
Emmanuel.  There  were  now  wanting  to  complete  the  union  only 
Venetia  and  Rome,  together  with  some  Italian  lands  on  the  north 
and  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic. 

856.  Venetia  added  to  the  Kingdom  (isee).  The  Seven 
Weeks'  War  (sect.  869),  which  broke  out  between  Prussia  and 
Austria  in  1866,  afforded  the  Italian  patriots  the  opportunity  for 
which  they  were  watching  to  make  Venetia  a  part  of  the  kingdom 
of  Italy.  Victor  Emmanuel  formed  an  alliance  with  the  king  of 
I'russia,  one  of  the  conditions  of  which  was  that  no  peace  should 
be  made  with  Austria  until  she  had  surrendered  Venetia  to  Italy. 
The  issue  of  the  war  added  this  territory  to  the  Italian  kingdom. 

857.  Rome  becomes  the  Capital  (i87o).  The  Italians  now 
looked  forward  impatiently  to  the  time  when  Rome,  the  ancient 
mistress  of  the  peninsula,  should  be  their  capital.  The  power  of 
the  Pope,  however,  was  upheld  by  the  French,  and  this  made  it 
impossible  for  the  Italians  to  have  their  will  in  this  matter  with- 
out a  conflict  with  France.    But  events  soon  gave  the  coveted 


§  858]      TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  PAPACY  ENDED         60 1 


capital  to  the  Italian  government.  In  1870  came  the  sharp,  quick 
war  between  France  and  Prussia,  and  the  French  troops  at  Rome 
were  summoned  home.  The  Italian  government  at  once  gave 
notice  to  the  Pope  that  Rome  would  henceforth  be  considered  a 
portion  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  forthwith  an  Italian  army- 
entered  the  city,  which  by  a 
vote  of  almost  a  hundred  to 
one  resolved  to  cast  in  its  lot 
with  that  of  the  Italian  nation, 
July  2,  187 1,  Victor  Emmanuel 
himself  entered  Rome  and  took 
up  his  official  residence  there. 
Since  then  the  Eternal  City 
has  been  the  seat  of  the  na- 
tional government.^ 

858.  End  of  the  Temporal 
Power  of  the  Papacy.  The 
occupation  of  Rome  by  the 
Italian  government  marked 
the  end  of  the  temporal  power 
of  the  Pope,  and  the  end  of  an 
ecclesiastical  state,  the  last  in 
Europe,  which  from  before 
Charles  the  Great  had  held 
a  place  among  the  temporal 
powers  of  Europe,  and  during 
all  that  period  had  been  a  po- 
tent   factor    in    the    political 

affairs  of  Italy.  With  the  abolition  of  the  papal  sovereignty,  the 
papal  troops,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  guardsmen,  were  dis- 
banded. The  \'atican  palace  and  some  other  buildings  with  their 
grounds  were  reserved  to  the  Pope  as  a  place  of  residence,  to- 
gether with  a  yearly  allowance  of  3,000,000  lire  (about  $600,000). 

1  \'ictnr  F.mmanucl  II  died  in  1878,  and  his  son  came  to  the  throne  with  the  title  of 
Humbert  i.  He  was  assassinated  in  1900,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  only  son,  Victor 
Emmanuel  III. 


Fig.  142.     Pope  Benedict  XV 

(From  a  photograph  by  Knsc/n'ii) 


6o2  THE  UNIFICATION  OB'  ITALY  L§  859 

These  arrangements  have  subsisted  down  to  the  present  time. 
Under  them  the  Pope  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  subject  of  the 
Italian  government  but  rather  as  a  sovereign  residing  at  Rome. 
His  person  is  inviolable.  No  Italian  officer  may  enter  the  Vatican 
or  its  grounds,  which  the  Italian  government  respects  the  same  as 
though  they  were  foreign  territory.^ 

The  popes  have  steadily  refused  to  recognize  the  legitimacy  ot 
the  act  whereby  they  were  deprived  of  the  temporal  government  of 
Rome  and  the  Papal  States,  and  have  protested  against  it  by 
refraining  from  setting  foot  outside  the  gardens  of  the  Vatican,  by 
refusing  to  accept  the  annuity  provided  for  them,  and  in  various 
other  ways.- 

859.  Reform  and  Progress.  The  antagonism  between  the 
Holy  See  and  the  Italian  government,  in  connection  with  other 
hindrances,  has  tended  to  retard  Italy's  progress  under  the  new 
regime.  Yet  very  much  has  been  accomplished  since  the  winning 
of  independence  and  nationality.  Brigandage,  an  element  of  the 
bad  heritage  from  the  time  of  servitude,  oppression,  and  disunion, 
has  been  in  a  great  degree  suppressed  ;  railways  have  been  built ; 
the  Alps  have  been  tunneled  ;  the  health  fulness  of  the  Campagna 
and  other  districts  has  been  increased  by  extensive  systems  of 
drainage,  and  regions  long  given  over  to  desolation  have  been 
made  habitable  and  productive ;  the  dense  ignorance  and  the 
deep  moral  degradation  of  the  masses,  particularly  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  peninsula,  have  been  in  a  measure  overcome  and 
relieved  by  a  public  system  of  education  ;  and  Rome  has  been 
rebuilt,  and  from  the  position  of  a  mean  provincial  town  has  been 
raised  to  a  place  among  the  great  capitals  of  modern  Europe. 

1  Just  a  few  months  before  the  Pope's  loss  of  temporal  sovereignty  a  council  of  the 
Catholic  Church  (the  Vatican  Council  of  iSrxj-iSjo)  had  by  a  solemn  vote  proclaimed  the 
doctrine  of  papal  infallibility,  which  declares  the  decisions  of  the  Pope,  "  when  he  speaks 
ex  cathedra^ — that  is,  when,  in  his  character  as  Shepherd  and  Teacher  of  all  Christians, 
and  in  virtue  of  his  supreme  apostolic  authority,  he  lays  down  that  a  certain  doctrine 
concerning  faith  or  morals  is  binding  upon  the  universal  Church,"  —  to  be  infallible. 

■■^  Pius  I.\  died  in  1878  and  was  followed  in  the  pontificate  by  I.eo  XIII,  who  died 
July  20,  190^,  at  the  patriarchal  age  of  ninety-three,  after  having  won  a  place  among  the 
greatest  and  the  best  of  the  popes.  He  was  succeeded  by  Pius  X,who  died  in  1914  and 
was  followed  by  Benedict  W. 


§  859]  REFERENX^ES  603 

As  to  the  progress  made  since  the  French  Revolution  in  the 
development  of  the  sentiment  of  nationality,  a  comparatively  re- 
cent disaster  furnishes  a  milestone  by  which  to  measure  advance. 
In  1902  the  great  historic  campanile  which  dominated  St.  Mark's 
in  V'^enice  fell  in  a  pathetic  heap  of  ruins.  Every  city  of  the 
peninsula,  says  a  chronicler  of  the  event,  mourned  just  as  if  the 
tower  had  been  its  own, — "and  then  they  opened  a  subscription." 
Had  the  catastrophe  happened  a  few  generations  earlier  Venice 
would  have  had  to  restore  her  own  bell  tower ;  but  Italy  is  today  a 
Nation,  and  the  misfortune  w'hich  befalls  any  Italian  city  afflicts 
all  alike.^ 

In  19 1 5  Italy  was  drawn  into  the  maelstrom  of  the  World  War 
then  raging,  so  that  here  her  story  properly  becomes  a  part  of 
the  story  of  that  tremendous  struggle. 

References.  Probyn,  J.  W.,  Italy:  from  the  Fall  of  N'apoleon  /,  in  181^,  to 
the  Year  iSgo,  and  Stillman,  W.  J.,  The  i'nion  of  Italy,  iSij-iSgs.  (The  first 
of  these  affords  the  best  short  account  for  young  readers ;  the  second  is  the 
best  for  a  careful  study.)  Martinengo  Cesaresco,  The  Liberation  of  Italy, 
1815-1870 ;  also  by  the  same  writer,  Cavoitr.  Thayer,  W.  R.,  The  Daivn  of 
Italian  Independence,  2  vols.  Mazade,  Ch.^RLES  DE,  Life  of  Cavour.  Dicey,  E., 
Victor  Emmanuel.    King,  B.,  A/azzini. 

1  In  1908  the  most  destructive  earthquake  that  has  visited  Europe  since  the  Lisbon 
earthquake  of  1755  occurred  in  Calabria  and  Sicily,  resulting  in  the  estimated  loss  of 
over  70,000  lives.  The  .Sicilian  city  of  Messina  was  wholly  destroyed,  a  great  part  of  its 
inhabitants  being  buried  in  its  ruins. 


CHAPTER  LXXII 
THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE 

860.  Formation  of  the  German  Confederation  (isis).  The 
creation  of  the  new  German  Empire  was  the  most  important 
matter  in  the  nineteenth-century  history  of  Europe,  although  it 
was  not  until  illumined  by  later  events  that  the  fateful  significance 
of  the  rise  of  this  new  state  among  the  European  states  was  dis- 
cerned even  by  the  most  far-seeing  statesmen.  The  story  of  the 
making  of  this  new  nation  and  imperial  power,  so  far  as  it  will  be 
narrated  in  the  present  chapter,  begins  with  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  (sect.  812).  That  body  reorganized  Germany  as  a  Con- 
federation, with  the  Emperor  of  Austria  as  President  of  the 
league.  The  union  consisted  of  the  Austrian  Empire  and  the  four 
kingdoms  of  Prussia,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Wurtemberg,  besides 
various  principalities  and  free  cities — in  all,  thirty-nine  states. 
A  Diet  formed  of  delegates  from  the  several  states,  and  sitting  at 
Frankfort-on-the-lNIain,  was  to  settle  all  questions  of  dispute  aris- 
ing between  members  of  the  Confederation,  and  to  determine 
matters  of  general  concern. 

The  articles  of  union,  in  a  spirit  of  concession  to  the  growing 
sentiment  of  the  times,  provided  that  all  sects  of  Christians  should 
enjoy  equal  toleration,  and  that  every  state  should  establish  a 
representative  form  of  government. 

861.  Defects  and  Weaknesses  of  the  Confederation.  The 
ties  uniting  the  various  states  of  this  Confederation  could  hardly 
have  been  more  lax.  In  this  respect  the  league  resembled  that  first 
formed  by  the  American  states  under  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion. One  chief  defect  of  the  constitution  of  the  league  lurked  in 
the  provisions  concerning  the  Federal  Diet.  The  unwillingness  of 
the  several  states  to  surrender  any  part  of  their  sovereignty  had 
led  to  the  insertion  of  the  rule  that  no  measure  of  first  importance 

604 


§862]  THE  GERMAN  CONFEDERATION  605 

should  be  adopted  by  the  Diet  save  by  a  unanimous  vote.  The 
inevitable  result  of  this  provision  was  that  no  measure  of  first 
importance  was  ever  passed  by  the  assembly,  which  became 
throughout  Europe  a  byword  for  hopeless  inefficiency. 

Another  defect  in  the  federal  government  was  that,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  American  Federation,  there  existed  no  effective 
machinery  for  carrying  out  the  acts  of  the  Federal  Diet.  These 
amounted  practically  to  nothing  more  than  recommendations  to 
the  rulers  of  the  several  states,  who'  paid  no  heed  whatsoever  to 
them  unless  they  chanced  to  be  in  line  with  their  own  policies 
or  inclinations. 

But  what  contributed  more  than  all  else  to  render  the  federal 
scheme  wholly  unworkable  was  the  presence  in  the  league  of  two 
powerful  and  mutually  jealous  states,  Austria  and  Prussia,  neither 
of  which  was  willing  that  the  other  should  have  predominance  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Confederation.  Of  these  two  rival  states  Prussia, 
though  at  first  she  yielded  nominal  precedence  to  Austria,  which 
had  a  great  past  and  enjoyed  a  vast  prestige  at  the  European 
courts,  was  in  reality  the  stronger  state.  Her  strength  lay  par- 
ticularly in  the  homogeneous,  essentially  German,  character  of 
her  population.  Austria  was  inherently  weak  because  of  the 
mixed  non-German  character  of  most  of  the  territories  that  had 
been  gradually  united  under  the  rule  of  the  Hapsburgs.  The 
greater  part  of  their  lands  lay  outside  of  the  German  Confeder- 
ation and  contained  nearly  twenty-five  million  Slavs,  ^Magyars, 
Italians,  and  other  non-German  subjects. 

This  difference  in  the  character  of  the  populations  of  Prussia 
and  the  Austrian  Empire  foreshadowed  their  divergent  destinies, — 
foreshadowed  that  Austria  should  lose  and  that  Prussia  should 
gain  the  leadership  in  German  affairs. 

862.  The  Dual  Movement  toward  Freedom  and  Union. 
For  a  half  century  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  the  history  of 
Germany  is  the  history  of  a  dual  movement,  or  perhaps  it  would 
be  better  to  say  two  movements,  one  democratic  and  the  other 
national  in  character.  The  aim  of  the  first  movement  was  the 
establishment  of  representative  government  in  the  different  states 


6o6  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§  S63 

of  the  Confederation;  the  aim  of  the  second  was  German  unity. 
These  movements  were  essentially  the  same  as  those  which  we 
have  seen  creating  in  the  Italian  peninsula  a  free  and  united  Italy. 
By  what  methods  they  were  carried  on  here  in  Germany  and  in 
what  measure  their  aims  were  attained  will  appear  in  the  following 
pages. 

863.  The  Revolutions  of  1830:  Some  Gains  for  Constitu- 
tional Government.  There  were  a  few  liberal-minded  princes 
among  the  German  rulers;  but  in  general  the  faces  of  these  princes 
were  turned  toward  the  past.  They  opposed  all  changes  that  would 
give  the  people  any  part  in  the  government,  and  clung  to  the  old 
order  of  things.  We  have  seen  what  were  the  consequences  of 
the  reactionary  policy  of  the  Bourbons  in  France  and  of  the 
despots  in  Italy.  Events  ran  exactly  the  same  course  in  Germany. 
When  the  news  of  the  July  Revolution  in  Paris  (sect.  817)  spread 
beyond  the  Rhine,  a  sympathetic  thrill  shot  through  Germany, 
and  in  places  the  Liberal  party  made  threatening  demonstrations 
against  their  reactionary  rulers.  In  several  of  the  minor  states 
constitutions  were  granted.  Thus  a  little  was  gained  for  free 
political  institutions,  though  after  the  flutter  of  the  revolutionary 
years  the  princes  again  took  up  their  reactionary  policy,  and 
under  the  influence  of  Metternich  did  all  in  their  power  to 
check  the  popular  movement  and  to  keep  governmental  matters 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  people.  In  some  instances  the  con- 
stitutions already  granted  were  annulled  or  their  articles  were 
disregarded. 

864.  Formation  of  the  Customs  Union;  First  Step  toward 
German  Unity  (i828-i836).  It  was  just  at  this  revolutionary 
epoch  that  the  first  step  was  taken  in  the  formation  of  a  real 
German  nation  through  the  creation  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Customs  Union.  This  was  a  sort  of  commercial  treaty  binding 
those  states  that  became  parties  to  it  —  by  the  year  1836  almost 
all  the  states  of  the  Confederation  save  Austria  had  become  mem- 
bers of  the  league  —  to  adopt  among  themselves  the  policy  of 
free  trade;  that  is,  there  were  to  be  no  duties  levied  on  goods 
passing  from  one  state  of  the  Union  to  another  belonging  to  it. 


§865]  THE  UPRISINGS  OF  1848  607 

The  greatest  good  resulting  from  the  Union  was  that  it  taught 
the  people  to  think  of  a  more  perfect  national  union.  And  as 
Prussia  was  the  promoter  of  the  trade  confederation,  it  accus- 
tomed the  smaller  states  to  look  to  her  as  their  head  and  chief. 

865,  The  Uprisings  of  1848;  Fateful  Consequences  of  the 
Failure  of  the  Liberal  Movement.  In  1848  news  flew  across  the 
Rhine  of  the  uprising  in  France  against  the  reactionary  govern- 
ment of  Louis  Philippe.  The  intelligence  kindled  a  flame  of 
excitement  throughout  Germany.  The  Liberals  everywhere  arose 
and  demanded  constitutional  government.  Especially  in  Austria 
did  affairs  assume  a  most  threatening  aspect.^  Metternich  was 
obliged  to  flee  the  country,  so  intense  was  the  feeling  against  him. 
The  Emperor  Ferdinand  I  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  nephew 
Francis  Joseph,  who  granted  the  people  a  constitution. 

At  the  Prussian  capital  Berlin  there  was  serious  fighting  in  the 
streets  between  the  people  and  the  soldiers,  and  the  excitement 
was  not  quieted  until  the  king,  Frederick  William  IV,  assured 
the  people  that  their  demands  for  constitutional  government 
should  be  granted.  In  fulfillment  of  this  promise  the  king  granted 
a  constitution,  which  provided  for  a  parliament  of  two  chambers, 
and  took  an  oath  to  rule  in  accord  with  its  provisions  (1850). 

Thus  the  Revolution  of  1848- 1849  seemed  on  the  whole  to  have 
secured  distinct  gains  for  popular  government  in  Germany.  These 
gains,  however,  proved  to  be  either  impermanent  or  illusive. 
After  the  excitement  of  the  revolutionary  movement  had  passed 
away,  many  of  the  lesser  princes  annulled  wholly  or  in  part  the 
constitutions  they  had  granted.  The  Austrian  constitution  was 
withdrawn  in  1851.  The  Prussian  constitution  was  so  framed  as 
to  leave  Prussia,  though  now  in  form  a  constitutional  state,  still 
in  reality  an  absolute  instead  of  a  limited  monarchy.-    In  1856  the 

1  The  most  serious  trouble  was  in  Hungary.  1-ed  by  the  distinguished  statesman  and 
orator  Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hungarians  rose  in  revolt  and  declared  their  independence 
of  the  Austrian  crown  (April  14,  1S49).  They  made  a  noble  fight  for  freedom,  but  were 
overpowered  by  the  united  Austrian  and  Russian  armies. 

2  The  grant  of  universal  suffrage  was  rendered  futile  by  an  astutely  devised  electoral 
system  based  on  property,  known  as  the  three-class  system  of  voting,  which  gave  the 
small  wealthy  class,  always  zealous  supporters  of  the  pretensions  of  the  Crown,  more 
than  half  of  the  seats  in  the  lower  house  of  the  national  assembly  (the  l.n)i<ftag). 


6o8  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§866 

Hohenzollern  Frederick  William,  who  had  granted  the  constitution, 
was  a  plaintiff  in  a  Missouri  court  (U.S.).  In  the  statement  of 
his  case  he  makes  the  following  declaration  of  his  status  as  king 
of  Prussia:  "The  plaintiff  states  that  he  is  absolute  monarch  of 
the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  and  as  king  thereof  is  the  sole  government 
of  that  country;  that  he  is  unrestrained  by  any  constitution  or 
law,  and  that  his  will,  expressed  in  due  form,  is  the  only  law 
of  that  country,  and  is  the  only  legal  power  there  known  to  exist 
as  law."^ 

The  failure  of  the  democratic  movement  of  the  revolutionary 
years  1848-1849  and  the  virtual  triumph  of  autocracy  in  Prussia 
and  Austria  had  momentous  consequences  for  Europe.-  It  created 
a  fatal  schism  and  left  the  continent  —  half  democratic,  half  auto- 
cratic—  a  house  divided  against  itself.  This  cleavage  foreshadowed 
the  great  tragedy  which  overwhelmed  Europe  in  1914. 

866.  Bismarck,  the  Unifier  of  Germany.  In  the  year  1861 
Frederick  William  IV  of  Prussia  died,  and  his  brother,  already  an 
old  man  of  sixty-three  yet  destined  to  be  for  almost  a  generation 
the  central  figure  in  the  movement  for  German  unity,  came  to  the 
Prussian  throne  as  William  I.  He  soon  called  to  his  side  Otto 
von  Bismarck  as  Premier  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  Bis- 
marck was  a  man  of  great  genius,  but  he  was  autocratic  in  his 
ideas  and  methods,  and — as  revealed  especially  in  his  Reminis- 
cences, dictated  by  himself  after  his  dismissal  from  office  by  Em- 
peror William  II  —  thoroughly  unscrupulous.  His  appearance  at 
the  head  of  the  Prussian  government  marks  an  epoch  in  history. 

Bismarck  held  that  it  was  Prussia's  mission  to  effect  the  uni- 
fication of  the  German  Fatherland.    This  work  he  was  convinced 

1  King  of  Prussia  -'.  Kuepper's  Admr.,  22  Missouri  Reports  (1856),  p.  550;  quoted 
by  Scott,  ^-1  Sunry  of  Inteitiat'wiial  Relations  behvccn  the  United  States  and  Gcnnany 
(1917),  p.  xlii. 

2  The  failure  of  the  liberal  constitutional  movement  in  the  separate  German  slates 
was  rendered  more  complete  by  the  failure  at  this  same  time  of  the  movement  to  bind 
the  various  states  in  a  closer  national  union  with  a  genuinely  liberal  constitution.  To 
this  end  there  had  met  in  l-'rankfort,  May  iS,  1848,  an  assembly,  like  the  Constituent 
Assembly  of  i78(;  in  France,  charged  with  the  duty  of  framing  a  national  constitution 
for  Germany.  Unfortunately  nothing  was  accomplished  by  the  meeting.  This  made 
hopeless  the  outlook  for  liberalism  in  Germany.  Many  of  the  leaders  of  the  popular 
movement  found  in  America  an  asylum  from  the  tyranny  at  home. 


§  867]  BISMARCK  609 

could  be  accomplished  only  through  the  Prussian  royal  house. 
He  believed  that  to  allow  the  royal  power  in  Prussia  to  be  re- 
duced to  the  condition  of  the  royal  power  in  England  would 
be  to  destroy  the  sole  instrument  by  means  of  which  German 
unity  could  be  wrought  out.  This  conviction  determined  Bis- 
marck's attitude  toward  the  Prussian  Parliament  when  it  came 
in  conflict  with  the  royal  power.  He  flouted  it  and  trampled  it 
under  foot.  He  was  known  as  the  '^  Parliament  tamer."  Naturally 
he  was  distrusted  and  hated  by  the  Liberals. 

As  to  the  vexed  question  between  Austria  and  Prussia,  Bismarck 
had  a  fixed  idea  as  to  how  that  should  be  settled, — "  by  blood  and 
iron."  Austria's  power  and  influence  must  be  destroyed  and  she 
herself  forcibly  expelled  from  Germany  before  the  German  states 
could  be  remolded  into  a  real  national  union. 

867.  The  Reform  of  the  Prussian  Army;  Bismarck's  Con- 
flict with  the  Prussian  Parliament.  It  had  been  King  William's 
policy  to  reform  and  strengthen  the  Prussian  army.  He  had 
selected  Bismarck  as  his  prime  minister  because  he  knew  he 
would  carry  out  this  policy  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  the 
Prussian  House  of  Representatives.  That  body  would  not  vote 
the  necessary  taxes.  Bismarck  held  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
make  the  necessary  appropriations  for  the  army,  and  when  they 
persisted  in  withholding  grants  of  money  he,  backed  by  his 
sovereign  and  the  House  of  Peers,  raised  without  parliamentary 
sanction  what  money  he  needed  for  his  army  reforms. 

It  was  a  bold  and  dangerous  procedure,  and  has  been  likened 
to  that  followed  by  Charles  I  and  Strafford  in  England.  For- 
tunately for  King  William  and  his  imperious  minister  the  policy 
proved  highly  successful,  issuing  in  Prussia's  military  predomi- 
nance in  Germany  and  in  German  unity,— and  the  "Parliament 
tamer"  and  his  master  escaped  the  fate  of  the  English  king 
and  his  minister. 

But  there  were  remote  evil  results  of  Bismarck's  action  which 
no  one  at  that  time  could  have  foreseen.  It  fixed  definitely  the 
autocratic  character  of  German  Imperialism,  which  was  to  be- 
come the  scourge  of  Europe;  for  when  a  little  later  the  German 


6io  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§868 

Empire  was  established,  it  was  this  Prussian  system  of  government 
that  was  the  pattern  after  which  the  Imperial  Government  was 
molded. 

868.  The  Danish  War  (i864).  The  weapon  which  Bismarck 
had  forged  was  used  in  three  wars.  The  first  of  these,  the 
Schleswig-Holstein,  or  Danish,  War,  grew  out  of  rival  Danish  and 
German  claims  to  two  duchies  attached  to  the  kingdom  of  Den- 
mark. The  dispute,  adroitly  handled  by  Bismarck,  soon  led  to  a 
declaration  of  war  by  Prussia  and  Austria  against  the  little  Danish 
kingdom.  Denmark  was,  of  course,  quickly  overpowered  and 
forced  to  resign  her  claim  to  the  duchies. 

Straightway  the  duchies  became  a  bone  of  contention  between 
Austria  and  Prussia.  Bismarck  was  bent  on  annexing  them  to 
Prussia,  since  they  would  be  a  most  valuable  possession  for  her 
as  a  prospective  sea  power,  giving  her  as  they  would  the  harbor 
of  Kiel  and  control  of  a  proposed  canal  uniting  the  Baltic  and 
the  North  Sea.  Austria  was  determined  that  her  rival  should  not 
get  them  unless  she  received  compensation  in  some  form, —  a  bit 
of  Silesia,  and  the  promise  of  Prussia's  help  in  case  she  had 
difficulty  with  her  troublesome  non-German  provinces. 

There  was  endless  controversy  over  the  matter.  Bismarck 
realized  that  Prussia  could  secure  the  coveted  prize  only  through 
war  with  Austria,  and  to  this  extreme  he  was  ready  to  go  since 
a  war  would  settle  not  only  the  question  respecting  the  owner- 
ship of  the  duchies  but  also  the  larger  question  as  to  Austrian 
or  Prussian  predominance  in  Germany.  The  hopelessly  entangled 
Gordian  knot  was  to  be  cut  by  the  sword. 

869.  The  Austro-Prussian,  or  Seven  Weeks',  War  (isee). 
Both  Austria  and  Prussia  began  to  arm.  Bismarck  secured  the 
neutrality  of  France  by  permitting  the  Emperor  Napoleon  to 
believe  that  if  Prussia  secured  additional  territory  by  the  war, 
France  would  be  allowed  to  appropriate  Belgium  or  some  Rhenish 
lands  as  a  compensation. 

He  also  made  a  ready  ally  of  Italy  by  engaging  that  in  the 
event  of  a  successful  issue  of  the  war  the  new  Italian  kingdom 
should  in  return  for  its  alliance  receive  Venetia  (sect.  856).    Bids 


§870]     THE  NORTH  GERMAN  CONFEDERATION        6ii 

in  the  form  of  various  proposals  and  promises  were  also  made 
by  Bismarck  for  the  alliance  of  the  smaller  German  states;  but 
almost  all  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  Austria,  so  that  in 
spite  of  the  Italian  alliance  it  seemed  like  an  unequal  contest 
into  which  Prussia  was  venturing,  since  her  population  was  not 
more  than  a  third  of  that  of  the  states  which  were  likely  to  be 
arrayed  against  her. 

The  war  began  in  the  early  summer  of  1866.  On  the  3d  of 
July  of  that  year  was  fought  the  great  battle  of  Sadowa,  or  Kdnig- 
gratz,  in  Bohemia.  It  was  Austria's  Waterloo.  The  Prussians 
pushing  on  toward  Vienna,  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  was 
constrained  to  sue  for  peace,  and  on  the  23d  of  August  the  Treaty 
of  Prague  was  signed.^ 

The  long  debate  between  Austria  and  Prussia  was  over.  By 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  Austria  consented  to  the  dissolution  of 
the  old  German  Confederation  and  agreed  to  allow  Prussia  to 
reorganize  the  German  states  as  she  might  wish.  At  the  same 
time  she  surrendered  Venetia  to  the  Italian  kingdom.  The  hin- 
drances she  had  so  long  placed  in  the  way  both  of  German  and 
of  Italian  unity  were  now  finally  removed. 

870.  Establishment  of  the  North  German  Confederation 
(i867).  Now  quickly  followed  the  reorganization,  under  the 
presidency  of  Prussia,  of  the  German  states  north  of  the  Main 
into  what  was  called  the  North  German  Confederation.  There 
were  twenty -one  states  in  all,  reckoning  the  three  free  cities  of 
Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  LUbeck.  The  domains  of  Prussia  were 
enlarged  by  the  annexation  of  Hanover,  Hesse-Cassel,  Nassau, 
the  free  city  P'rankfort,  and  the  duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Hol- 
stein.  These  annexations  gave  the  Prussian  king  nearly  five  mil- 
lion new  subjects  and  united  into  a  fairly  compact  dominion  his 
heretofore  severed  and  scattered  territories. 

A  constitution  was  adopted  which  provided  that  all  matters 
of  common  concern  should  be  committed  to  a  Federal  Parliament, 

1  The  fear  of  French  inter\'ention  hastened  the  negotiations  on  the  part  of  the 
Prussian  court.  Since  the  Emperor  Napoleon  as  the  price  of  his  consent  to  ItaHan  unity 
had  received  Savoy  and  Nice  (sect.  853),  so  now  he  thought  to  wring  from  Germany 
some  Rhine  lands  as  the  price  of  his  consent  to  German  unity. 


6i2  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§871 

or  Diet,  the  members  of  the  lower  house  of  which  were  to  be 
chosen  by  universal  suffrage.  The  Prussian  king  was  to  be  the 
hereditary  executive  of  the  Confederation,  and  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  military  forces  of  the  several  states  composing 
the  league. 

Thus  was  a  long  step  taken  toward  German  unity.  But  there 
still  remained  much  to  be  desired.  The  states  to  the  south  of  the 
Main  —  Baden,  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Hesse-Darmstadt  — 
were  yet  wanting  to  bring  to  completion  the  unification  of  the 
Fatherland. 

871.  The  Franco-Prussian  War  (i87o-i87i)  and  the  Proc- 
lamation of  the  New  German  Empire.  There  were  two  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  completion  of  the  union.  First,  the  South  Ger- 
man states  were  averse  to  entering  a  confederation  dominated 
by  Prussia.  Second,  there  was  the  opposition  of  the  imperial  and 
military  French  party,  who  viewed  with  ill-concealed  jealousy 
the  rise  of  this  new  Prussian  power  that  threatened  to  push  France 
from  her  historic  position  as  arbiter  of  continental  Europe.  All 
France's  traditional  jealousy  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg  was  now 
transferred  to  the  rising  House  of  Hohenzollern. 

The  means  which  Bismarck  used  to  remove  the  reluctance  of 
the  southern  states  to  join  the  Confederation,  and  to  overcome 
French  opposition  to  the  consummation  of  German  unity  under 
Prussian  headship,  were  a  deliberately  provoked  war  with  France. 
The  situation  of  which  he  took  advantage  to  bring  about  the  war 
was  this:  In  1869  the  Spanish  throne  became  vacant.  It  was 
offered  to  Leopold,  a  member  of  the  Hohenzollern  family.  To 
the  I'rench  Emperor  Napoleon  III  this  appeared  to  be  a  scheme 
on  the  part  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern  to  unite  the  interests 
of  Prussia  and  Spain,  just  as  Austria  and  Spain  were  united, 
with  such  disastrous  consequences  to  the  peace  of  Europe,  under 
the  princes  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg.  Even  after  Leopold,  to 
avoid  displeasing  France,  had  declined  the  proffered  crown,  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  demanded  of  King  William  assurance  that 
no  member  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern  should  ever  with  his 
consent  become  a  candidate  for  the  Spanish  throne. 


§871]  THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR  613 

This  demand  was  made  of  King  William  by  the  French  am- 
bassador Benedetti  at  the  little  watering  place  of  Ems.  The  king 
courteously  refused  the  demand  and  then  sent  a  telegram  to 
Bismarck  informing  him  of  what  had  occurred,  at  the  same  time 
giving  him  permission  to  make  such  use  of  the  message  as  he  saw 
lit.  Bismarck  edited  the  telegram  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it 
appear  to  the  French  that  their  ambassador  had  been  insulted 
and  rudely  dismissed  by  King  William,  and  to  the  Germans  that 
the  French  government  had  in  an  arrogant  manner  insisted  upon 
an  impossible  demand.  Then  he  gave  out  the  falsified  telegram 
for  publication.    War  was  now  inevitable.^ 

The  astonishing  successes  of  the  German  armies  on  French  soil 
(sect.  820)  created  among  Germans  everywhere  such  patriotic 
pride  that  all  the  obstacles  which  had  hitherto  prevented  any- 
thing more  than  a  partial  union  of  the  members  of  the  Germanic 
body  were  now  swept  out  of  the  way  by  an  irresistible  tide  of 
national  sentiment.  While  the  siege  of  Paris  was  progressing, 
commissioners  were  sent  by  the  southern  states  to  Versailles,  the 
headquarters  of  King  William,  to  represent  to  him  that  they 
were  ready  and  anxious  to  enter  the  North  German  union.  Thus, 
in  rapid  succession  Baden,  Hesse,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria 
were  received  into  the  Confederation,  the  name  of  which  was  now 
changed  to  that  of  the  German  Confederation. 

Scarcely  was  this  accomplished  when,  upon  the  suggestion  of 
the  king  of  Bavaria, — who  had  been  coached  by  Bismarck, — 
King  William,  who  now  bore  the  title  of  President  of  the  Con- 
federation, was  given  the  title  of  German  Emperor,  which  honor 
was  to  be  hereditary  in  his  family.  On  the  i8th  of  January,  1871, 
within  the  Palace  of  Versailles,  amidst  great  enthusiasm  the  im- 
perial dignity  was  formally  conferred  upon  King  William,  and 
Germany  became  a  federated  Empire.- 

l  Hismarck  had  further  inflamed  Cierman  feeling  against  the  French  government  by- 
making  public  Napoleon's  request  for  Hesse  and  Rhenish  Bavaria  at  the  time  of  the 
Austro-l'russian  War.  These  revelations  had  created  a  tremendous  sentiment  against 
France  not  only  in  the  South  Oerman  states  but  throughout  all  Germany. 

-  For  the  essential  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Frankfort  (1S71)  which  ended  the 
war,  see  sect.  82 1. 


6i4  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§872 

872.  Character  of  the  Imperial  Constitution.  The  Empire' 
received  a  constitution.  Though  seemingly  liberal,  its  articles 
were  so  adroitly  drawn  as  to  conceal  the  real  absolutism  of  the 
government  created.  It  provided  for  a  parliament  or  legislature 
comprising  two  bodies,  a  Federal  Council  {Bundcsrat)  and  an 
Imperial  Diet  {Reichstag) .  The  Federal  Council,  which  formed 
the  upper  chamber  of  the  legislature,  was  composed  of  sixty-one 
members,  who  were  appointed  by  the  princes  of  the  federated 
states.  Of  the  whole  number  of  delegates  the  Emperor,  as  king  of 
Prussia,  appointed  seventeen.  The  members  of  the  Council  voted 
as  instructed  by  the  governments  or  rulers  whom  they  represented. 

The  Imperial  Diet,  which  formed  the  lower  chamber  of  the 
legislature,  comprised  about  four  hundred  members  elected  by 
practically  universal  manhood  suffrage.  The  original  apportion- 
ment was  one  member  for  every  twenty  thousand  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  federated  states. 

We  have  here  the  forms  of  a  constitutional  parliamentary  gov- 
ernment. These  forms,  however,  as  we  have  said,  merely  masked 
the  practically  absolute  powers  of  the  Emperor.  As  the  one  who 
appointed  and  controlled  the  vote  of  the  seventeen  Prussian  mem- 
bers of  the  Federal  Council  (in  addition  to  these  he  also  controlled 
the  vote  of  the  three  delegates  representing  the  imperial  province 
of  Alsace-Lorraine),  he  dominated  that  body.  On  all  really  vital 
matters  it  merely  registered  his  will. 

As  to  the  apparent  powers  of  the  Diet,  there  were  provisions 
of  the  constitution  which  rendered  these  wholly  illusory  and  left 
to  this  body  nothing  more  than  the  semblance  of  authority.  It 
had,  it  is  true,  the  right  to  originate  bills,  though  as  a  matter  of 
fact  most  bills,  and  particularly  the  important  ones,  were  framed 
by  the  Federal  Council;  but  this  right  signified  very  little,  since 
the  Federal  Council  might  veto  any  measure,  and  this  veto  could 
be  overcome  in  no  possible  constitutional  way. 

'  'I'he  Kmpirc  consisted  of  twenty-six  states,  counting  the  imperial  territory  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  An  outstanding  fact  of  the  Union  was  the  preponderance  of  Prussia.  The 
census  of  1910  gave  the  population  of  Prussia  as  40,165,219  ;  that  of  all  the  other  states 
as  24,760,770. 


§873]      BISMARCK  AS  IMPERIAL  CHANCELLOR         615 

Then,  again,  the  Diet  could  be  dissolved  at  any  time  by  the 
Federal  Council,  which  meant  virtually  by  the  Emperor.  When- 
ever it  refused  to  act  in  accord  with  the  imperial  will,  its  members 
were  sent  home  and  a  new  election  ordered,  and  by  this  means  a 
new  and  usually  more  tractable  body  was  secured. 

Furthermore,  the  Diet  had  no  part  in  shaping  the  policies  of 
the  government  nor  any  control  over  the  administration  of  affairs. 
The  Imperial  Chancellor,  who  corresponded  in  his  position  in  the 
government  to  the  British  Premier,  was  responsible  not  to  the 
Diet  but  to  the  Emperor,  who  appointed  and  dismissed  him  at 
will.  He  could  disregard  with  impunity  and  treat  with  contempt 
a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence  by  that  body,  so  long  as  his  master, 
the  Emperor,  supported  him. 

Finally,  the  Diet  had  practically  no  control  over  matters  of 
war  and  peace.  The  Emperor  could  declare  a  defensive  war  with- 
out the  advice  or  consent  of  that  body,  and  since  the  Imperial 
Government  did  not  scruple  to  falsify  the  truth  and  proclaim  a 
purely  offensive  war  as  a  defensive  one,  the  Diet  was  without 
power  or  authority  in  this  important  domain.^ 

These  various  provisions  of  the  constitution  left  to  the  Diet 
merely  the  shadow  of  power  and  authority,  and  made  it,  what  it 
has  been  called,  little  more  than  an  official  debating  club.  Thus 
the  constitution  given  the  Empire  by  Bismarck,  instead  of  creat- 
ing a  truly  representative  parliamentary  government,  created  (or 
rather  perpetuated)  "an  autocratic  system  of  government  adorned 
with  a  democratic  fagade." 

873,  Bismarck  as  Imperial  Chancellor;  the  Triple  Alliance. 
For  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  close  of  the  Franco-Prussian 
War  the  affairs  of  the  new  Empire  were  directed  by  Bismarck 
as  the  first  Imperial  Chancellor.  In  his  foreign  policy,  which 
alone  we  can  notice  here,  Bismarck's  greatest  achievement  was 
the  formation  of  what  is  known  as  the  Triple  Alliance  {Dreibund) 

'  Thus  the  war  of  1014,  though  it  was  a  war  of  criminal  aggression  on  the  part  of 
CJcrmany,  was  proclaimed  by  the  Emperor  as  a  war  in  defense  of  the  Fatherland,  and 
was  started  by  him  and  his  military  advisers,  the  Reichstag  not  being  officially  informed 
of  the  beginning  of  hostilities  till  four  davs  later. 


6i6  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§874 

between  the  German  Empire,  Austria-Hungary,  and  Italy. ^  This 
compact,  in  its  inception  and  as  designed  by  Bismarck,  was  a 
defensive  alliance  against  Russia  and  France.  The  creation  of 
this  alliance  was  one  of  the  most  significant  matters  in  the  history 
of  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  For  a  decade  and 
more  the  alliance  was  a  force  making  for  the  peace  of  Europe, 
but  later,  with  growing  Prussian  predominance  and  arrogance,  it 
became  a  menace  to  the  freedom  and  independence  of  neigh- 
boring states,  and  thus  a  decisive  factor  in  bringing  on  the  great 
World  War. 

874.  Germany  under  Emperor  William  II  up  to  the  World 
War.  In  1888  Emperor  William  I  died  at  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-one.  He  was  followed  by  his  son  Frederick,  who  at  the 
time  of  his  accession  was  suffering  from  a  fatal  malady.  He  died 
after  a  short  reign  of  three  months,  and  his  son  came  to  the 
throne  as  Emperor  William  II  (1888). 

It  was  generally  thought  that  the  young  sovereign  —  he  was 
twenty-nine  years  of  age  —  would  be  completely  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Bismarck.  But  soon  the  Emperor  disclosed  a  very 
imperious  will  of  his  own.  His  relations  with  Bismarck  became 
strained  and  the  aged  Chancellor  was  brusquely  dismissed.-  Many 
felt  that  the  youthful  Emperor  had  treated  the  creator  of  the 
Empire  and  the  maker  of  the  imperial  fortunes  of  the  House  of 
Hohenzollern  with  gross  ingratitude.  After  his  dismissal  of  Bis- 
marck, the  Emperor's  rule  was  a  very  personal  one. 

The  wonderful  commercial  and  industrial  development  of  Ger- 
many, and  the  remarkable  growth,  in  spite  of  the  bitter  opposition 
of  the  government,  of  the  party  known  as  the  Social  Democrats,"' 
who  advocated   an  extreme  programme  of  social   and   industrial 

1  The  beginning  of  the  alliance  was  a  pact  between  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary 
in  1S79;  it  was  completed  by  the  adhesion  of  Italy  in  1882, 

2  March  18,  1890.  In  his  retirement  at  Friedrichsruh,  an  estate  which  was  a  gift  to 
him  from  the  grateful  Emperor  William  I,  Bismarck  played  the  part  of  a  "Ccrman 
Prometheus."  lie  hurled  defiance  at  all  his  enemies,  and  did  not  scruple  to  subject 
the  policies  of  the  Emperor  and  his  ministers  to  the  most  caustic  criticism.  The  ex- 
Chanccllor  died  in  1898,  being  irt  his  eighty-fourth  year. 

''In  1871  this  party  cast  a  vote  of  about  124,000  ;  in  1903  the  vote  was  over  2,91 1,000; 
and  in  1912  it  rose  to  4,250,399. 


§S75J  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AFTER  1866  617 

reform  and  more  democratic  methods  in  government,  are  two  of 
the  most  noteworthy  facts  in  the  domestic  history  of  the  Empire 
before  the  opening  of  the  tremendous  conflict  of  19 14. 

An  outstanding  feature  of  the  foreign  policy  of  William  II 
was  his  cultivation  of  the  friendship  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 
His  purpose  here  was  to  secure  from  the  Ottoman  government 
privileges  for  German  traders  and  settlers  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and 
especially  concessions  for  a  German-built  railway  running  from 
Constantinople  to  Bagdad  and  the  Persian  Gulf.  But  these  mat- 
ters are  related  to  the  ambitious  scheme  of  the  Emperor  and  the 
Prussian  ruling  caste  for  world  domination,  and  of  this  as  the 
fundamental  cause  of  the  World  War  we  shall  find  it  more  con- 
venient to  speak  in  another  connection. 


875.  Austria-Hungary  after  1866.  The  disaster  of  Sadowa 
did  in  a  measure  for  Austria  what  the  disaster  of  Jena  did  for 
Prussia  (sect.  807), — brought  about  its  political  reorganization. 

The  first  step  and  the  most  important  one  in  the  process  of 
reorganization  was  the  recognition  by  the  Austrian  court  of  the 
claims  of  the  Magyars  to  the  right  of  equality  in  the  monarchy 
with  the  hitherto  dominant  German  race.  By  an  agreement 
known  as  the  Ausgleich,  or  Compromise,  the  relations  of  Austria 
and  Hungary  in  the  reconstituted  state  were  defined  and  regu- 
lated. It  provided  for  the  division  of  the  old  empire  into  two 
parts,  designated  as  the  Austrian  Empire  and  the  Hungarian 
Kingdom.^  Each  state  was  to  have  its  own  parliament,  the  one 
sitting  at  Vienna  and  the  other  at  Budapest,  and  each  was  to  have 
complete  control  of  its  own  internal  affairs.  Neither  was  to  have 
the  least  precedence  over  the  other. 

The  common  interests  of  the  two  states — those  embracing  for- 
eign affairs,  the  army,  and  finances  —  were  to  be  regulated  by  a 
third  peculiar  body,  the  so-called  "Delegations,"  comjjosed  of  sixty 
delegates  from  each  of  the  other  two  parliaments.  The  hereditary 
head   of   the   Austrian   state   was   to   be  also   the   constitutional 

1  The  official  designation  of  the  dual  state  was  the  Aiistro-I/uiii^anafi  Monarchv. 


6i8  THE  NEW  GERMAN  EMPIRE  [§875 

king  of  Hungary.  This  celebrated  compact  was  duly  ratified 
by  the  parliaments  of  Hungary  and  Austria,  and  the  long 
struggle  between  the  Magyars  and  the  House  of  Hapsburg  was 
virtually  at  an  end.  At  the  same  time  that  the  Compromise  was 
arranged,  the  Austrian  division  of  the  monarchy  was  given  a 
liberal  constitution  and  the  Hungarian  constitution,  suspended  in 
1848,  was  restored.  From  this  time  forward  until  its  break-up 
in  1918,  Austria-Hungary  was  in  form  and  theory  a  constitutional, 
parliamentary  state ;  but  the  government  remained  in  temper 
and  spirit,  and  largely  in  practice,  an  autocratic  despotism. 

The  Compromise,  it  will  be  noted,  made  no  recognition  what- 
soever of  the  historic  rights  and  liberties  of  the  other  races  or 
nationalities  of  the  monarchy,  of  which  there  were  many.  Thus, 
in  the  eastern  half  of  the  monarchy  the  Magyars,  who  formed  less 
than  one  half  of  the  population  of  the  Hungarian  kingdom/  were 
holding  all  the  non-Magyar  races  of  the  kingdom — with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Slavs  of  Croatia,  who  had  secured  some  measure 
of  self-government — in  just  such  political  serfdom  as  they  them- 
selves were  subjected  to  before  their  emancipation  by  the  events 
of  1866-1867. 

It  was  the  same  in  the  other  half  of  the  monarchy.  There 
a  German  minority-  was  holding  the  Czechs  in  Bohemia  and  the 
Poles  in  Galicia  in  a  state  of  subjection  similar  to  that  in  which 
the  Magyars  were  holding  the  non-Magyar  races  of  Hungary. 

Now  these  dependent  nationalities  claimed  that  they  had  as  good 
a  right  to  self-government  as  had  either  the  Germans  or  the  Mag- 
yars. It  was  easy  to  forecast  that,  if  these  contentions  did  not  end 
in  the  recognition  by  the  two  dominant  races  of  the  justice  of 
the  claims  of  these  dependent  peoples,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
dual  monarchy  into  a  federal  union  in  which  the  various  racial 
groups  should  enjoy  equality  of  rights  and  privileges,  then  the 
only  possible  outcome  of  the  situation  would  be  the  disruption 
of  the  monarchy — probably  in  some  time  of  stress  and  strain. 

1  The  census  of  1910  gave  the  total  number  of  inhabitants  of  Hungary  as  20,886,487, 
of  whom  only  10,050,575  were  returned  as  being  of  Hungarian  speech. 

■■'The  total  population  of  Austria  according  to  the  census  of  1910  was  28,571,934; 
the  number  of  Germans  (on  basis  of  language),  9,950,266. 


■^ 


§875]  REFERENCES  619 

The  affairs  of  Austria-Hungary  were  almost  as  much  a  matter 
of  European  concern  as  were  those  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  This 
was  so  for  the  reason  that  most  of  the  dependent  ethnic  groups 
wuthin  the  monarchy  were  merely  detached  areas  of  larger  bodies 
of  kindred  peoples  in  adjoining  lands,  and  because  there  was  a 
tendency  in  these  small  groups  to  gravitate  toward  the  larger 
masses  of  their  kin  in  these  neighboring  countries.  Thus  the 
Italians  in  Trieste  and  the  Tyrol  were  drawn  toward  the  Italian 
kingdom ;  the  Rumanians  of  Transylvania  toward  the  principality 
of  Rumania;  the  Slavs  of  the  south  toward  the  Slav  state  of 
Serbia.  In  a  later  chapter  we  shall  learn  how  these  racial  prob- 
lems became  a  contributory  cause  of  the  World  War  and  a 
determining  factor  in  its  issues  in  so  far  as  these  involved  the 
fate  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy. 

References.  Sybel,  II.  Von,  The  Foimding  of  the  German  Empire,  7  vols. 
Andrews,  C.  M.,  The  Historical  Development  0/ Modern  Europe,  vol.  i,  chaps. 
vi,  ix,  and  x;  vol.  ii,  chaps,  v  and  vi-xii.  Henderson,  E.  F.,  A  Short  History 
of  Germany,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  viii-x.  Lowe,  C,  Prince  Bismarck  and  The  German  ' 
Emperor,  William  II.  Headlam,  J.  W.,  Bismarck  and  the  Founding  of  the 
German  Empire.  BvscH,M..,  Our  Chancellor.  Lowell,  A.  L.,  Governments  and 
Parties  in  Continental  Europe,  vol.  i,  chaps,  v  and  vi ;  vol.  ii,  chaps,  vii-x. 
Coolidge,  a.  C,  Origins  of  the  Triple  Alliance.  Marriott,  J.  A.  R.,  and 
Robertson,  C.  A.,  The  Evolution  of  Prussia,  chaps,  viii-xiv.  H.azen,  C.  D., 
Modern  European  History,  chaps,  xix-xxi,  xxiv. 


CHAPTER  LXXIII 

RUSSIA  FROM  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  TO 
THE  WORLD  WAR 

(1815-1914) 

876.  Preliminary  Statement.  The  story  of  Russia  since  the 
fall  of  Napoleon  is  crowded  with  matters  of  great  moment  and 
interest.  We  can,  however,  in  the  present  chapter,  speak  very 
briefly  of  only  three  things, — her  part  in  the  dismemberment  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  the  emancipation  of  her  serfs,  and  the 
liberal  movement.  In  later  chapters  we  shall  find  place  to  say 
something  of  Russia  in  Asia  and  of  her  part  in  the  World  War. 

I.  RUSSIA'S  WARS  AGAINST  TURKEY  AND  HER  ALLIES 

877.  The  Russo-Turkish  War  of  1828-1829.  In  the  course 
of  the  nineteenth  century  Russia  waged  three  wars  against  the 
Ottoman  Porte,  which  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Turks  from 
a  large  part  of  their  conquests  in  Europe.  But  the  jealousy  of 
the  other  great  powers  of  Europe  prevented  Russia  from  appro- 
priating the  fruits  of  her  victories,  so  that  the  outcome  of  her 
efforts  was  the  establishment  of  a  number  of  independent,  or  prac- 
tically independent,  Christian  principalities  on  the  land  recovered. 

The  first  of  these  wars  began  in  1828.  In  that  year,  taking 
advantage  of  the  embarrassment  of  the  Sultan  through  a  stubborn 
insurrection  in  Greece,'  Tsar  Nicholas-  declared  war  against  the 

'  This  was  the  struggle  known  as  the  War  of  Greek  Independence  (1821-1829). 
This  war  was  a  phase  of  the  liberal  and  national  movement  which  in  the  revolutionary 
year  of  1821  agitated  the  Italian  and  Iberian  peninsulas.  Lord  Ryron  devoted  his  life 
and  fortune  to  the  cause  of  fireek  freedom.  He  died  of  fever  at  the  siege  of  Missolonghi 
OS24).  England,  France,  and  Russia  finally  intervened.  The  Turko-Egyptian  fleet  was 
destroyed  by  the  fleets  of  the  allies  in  the  bay  of  Navarino  (1S27).  The  year  after  this 
event  began  the  Russian  campaign  in  the  Danubian  provinces,  as  narrated  in  the  text. 

2  Tsars  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  after:  Alexander  I,  1801-182-;;  Nicholas  I, 
1825-1855;  Alexander  II,  1855-1881  ;  Alexander  111,  1SS1-1894  ;  Nicholas  II  (deposed 
and  murdered),  1894-1917. 

620 


§878]  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  621 

Ottoman  Porte.  The  Russian  troops  crossed  the  Balkans  with- 
out serious  opposition,  and  were  marching  upon  Constantinople 
when  the  Sultan  sued  for  peace.  The  Treaty  of  Adrianople 
brought  the  war  to  a  close  (1829). 

The  Turkish  provinces  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  (now 
Rumania)  were  rendered  virtually  independent  of  the  Sultan. 
All  Greece  south  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus  was  liberated,  and  along 
with  most  of  the  islands  of  the  ^gean  was  formed  into  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom  under  the  joint  guardianship  of  England,  France, 
and  Russia.  Prince  Otto  of  Bavaria  accepted  the  crown,  and 
became  the  first  king  of  the  little  Hellenic  state^  (1832). 

878.  The  Crimean  War  (i853-i856).  A  celebrated  parable 
employed  by  the  Tsar  Nicholas  in  conversation  with  the  English 
minister  at  St.  Petersburg  throws  a  good  deal  of  light  upon  the 
circumstances  that  led  to  the  Crimean  War.  "We  have  on  our 
hands,"  said  the  Tsar,  "a  sick  man  —  a  very  sick  man;  it  would 
be  a  great  misfortune  if  he  should  give  us  the  slip  some  of  these 
days,  especially  if  it  happened  before  all  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments were  made."  Nicholas  thereupon  proposed  that  England 
and  Russia  should  divide  the  estate  of  the  "sick  man,"  by  which 
phrase  Turkey  of  course  was  meant.  England  was  to  be  allowed 
to  take  Egypt  and  Crete,  while  the  Turkish  provinces  in  Europe 
were  to  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  the  Tsar. 

A  pretense  for  hastening  the  dissolution  of  the  sick  man  was  not 
long  wanting.  A  quarrel  between  the  Creek  and  Latin  Christians 
at  Jerusalem  was  made  the  ground  by  Nicholas  for  demanding  of 
the  Sultan  the  recognition  of  a  Russian  protectorate  over  all  Greek 

1  In  1S64  the  little  kingdom  was  enlarged  through  the  cession  to  it  of  the  Ionian 
Islands  by  England,  in  whose  hands  they  had  been  since  the  Congress  of  \'ienna.  In 
1S81  it  received  Thessaly  and  a  part  of  Epirus  by  cession  from  Turkey,  but  in  1S9-,  as 
the  result  of  an  unfortunate  war  with  the  Sultan,  was  forced  to  accede  to  a  treaty  which 
gave  back  to  the  Ottoman  Porte  a  strip  of  northern  Thessaly.  .As  a  result  of  the  Balkan 
Wars  (sect.  9:51),  it  received  additional  territory  on  the  mainland  together  with  a  number 
of  /Egean  islands.  Under  the  regime  of  freedom,  substantial  progress  was  made  prior 
to  the  war  of  1914.  The  population  of  the  little  kingdom  rose  from  612,000  in  1S32  to 
about  4,800,000  (estimated  for  old  and  new  territory)  in  1013.  Industr)',  trade,  and 
commerce  revived.  The  Isthmus  of  Corinth  was  pierced  by  a  canal.  Railroads  were 
built.  Athens  took  on  the  appearance  of  a  modern  capital.  Its  two  universities  in  1912 
had  an  attendance  of  over  3000  students. 


622    RUSSIA  AFTER  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  [^879 

Christians  in  the  Ottoman  dominions.  The  demand  was  rejected, 
and  Nicholas  prepared  for  war.  The  Sultan  appealed  to  the 
Western  powers  for  help.  England  and  France  responded  to  the 
appeal,  and  later  Sardinia  joined  her  forces  to  theirs  (sect.  852). 

The  main  interest  of  the  struggle  centered  about  Sevastopol, 
in  the  Crimea,  Russia's  great  naval  and  military  station  in  the 
Black  Sea.  The  siege  of  this  place,  which  lasted  eleven  months, 
was  one  of  the  most  memorable  in  history.  The  Russian  general 
Todleben  earned  a  great  reputation  through  his  masterly  defense 
of  the  works.  The  French  troops,  through  their  dashing  bravery, 
brought  great  fame  to  the  emperor  who  had  sent  them  to  gather 
glory  for  his  throne.  The  English  "Light  Brigade"  won  immor- 
tality in  its  memorable  charge  at  Balaklava.  And  along  with 
the  story  of  the  Light  Brigade  will  live  in  English  annals, 
"through  the  long  hereafter  of  her  speech  and  song,"  the  story  of 
Florence  Nightingale,  whose  labors  in  alleviating  the  sufferings 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  trenches  and  the  base  hospitals 
form  the  most  inspiring  chapter  in  the  history  of  humanitarian 
endeavor.^ 

The  Russians  were  at  length  forced  to  evacuate  their  stronghold. 
The  war  was  now  soon  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 
The  keynote  of  this  treaty  was  the  maintenance  in  its  integrity 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire  as  a  barrier  against  Muscovite  encroach- 
ments. Russia  was  given  back  Sevastopol,  but  was  required  to 
abandon  all  claims  to  a  protectorate  over  any  of  the  subjects  of 
the  Porte,  and  to  agree  not  to  raise  any  more  fortresses  on  the 
Euxine  nor  keep  upon  that  sea  any  armed  ships,  save  what  might 
be  needed  for  police  service. - 

879.  The  Russo-Turkish  War  of  1877-1878.  Anxiously  as 
the  Treaty  of  Paris  had  provided  for  the  permanent  settlement 
of  the  Eastern  Question,  barely  twenty-two  years  had  passed 
before  it  was  again  up  before  Europe.  The  Sultan  could  not  or 
would  not  give  his  Christian  subjects  that  protection  which  he 

'  Kcad  Longfellow's  poem  Santa  Filomeita. 

'^  Russia  repudiated  this  article  of  the  treaty  during  the  Franco- Prussian  War  in  1871. 
.She  then  restored  the  fortresses  of  Sevastopol  and  before  the  opening  of  the  war  of  1914 
was  maintaining  a  strong  fJect  of  warships  on  the  Black  Sea. 


§880]  THE  TREATY  OF  BERLIN  623 

had  solemnly  promised  should  be  given.  In  1876  there  occurred 
in  Bulgaria  what  are  known  as  the  "Bulgarian  atrocities," — 
massacres  of  Christian  men,  women,  and  children  more  revolting 
perhaps  than  any  others  of  which  history  up  to  that  time  had 
made  record. 

Fierce  indignation  was  kindled  throughout  Europe.  The  Rus- 
sian armies  were  soon  in  motion.  Kars  in  Asia  Minor  and  Plevna 
in  European  Turkey,  the  latter  after  a  memorable  siege,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Russians,  and  the  armies  of  the  Tsar  were  once 
more  in  full  march  upon  Constantinople,  with  the  prospect  of 
soon  ending  forever  Turkish  rule  on  European  soil,  when  England 
intervened,  sent  her  fleet  through  the  Dardanelles,  and  arrested 
the  triumphant  march  of  the  Russians. 

880.  The  Treaty  of  Berlin  (i878).  The  Treaty  of  Berlin,^  the 
articles  of  which  were  arranged  by  the  great  powers,  adjusted 
once  more  the  disorganized  affairs  of  the  Sublime  Porte  and  bol- 
stered up  as  well  as  was  possible  the  "sick  man."  But  he  lost 
a  considerable  part  of  his  estate,  for  even  his  friends  had  no 
longer  any  hope  either  of  his  recovery  or  of  his  reformation.  Out 
of  those  provinces  of  his  dominions  in  Europe  in  which  the 
Christian  population  was  most  numerous,  there  was  created  a 
group  of  wholly  independent  or  half-independent  states.-  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina  were  given  to  Austria-Hungary  to  administer, 
but  were  not  actually  severed  from  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

The  island  of  Cyprus,  by  a  secret  arrangement  between  the 
Ottoman  Porte  and  the  English  government,  was  ceded  to  Eng- 
land "  to  be  occupied  and  administered."  In  return  England 
guaranteed  the  integrity  of  the  Sultan's  possessions  in  Asia. 

1  In  this  treaty  the  great  powers  revised  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  which  Russia  had 
concluded  with  Turkey.  That  treaty  practically  expelled  the  Ottoman  Porte  from  Europe 
and  created  an  enlarged  Bulgaria,  a  Slavic  state,  at  the  expense  of  the  Serbian  and 
Greek  races. 

-  The  absolute  independence  of  Rumania  (the  ancient  provinces  of  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia),  Serbia,  and  Montenegro  was  formally  acknowledged  ;  Bulgaria,  greatly 
reduced  from  the  extension  given  it  by  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano,  was  to  enjoy  self- 
government,  but  was  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Porte ;  Eastern  Rumelia  was  to  have  a 
Christian  governor,  but  was  to  remain  under  the  dominion  of  the  Sultan.  (In  1SS5  East- 
ern Rumelia  united  with  Bulgaria.)  Bessarabia,  whose  population  was  almost  wholly 
Rumanian  in  race,  was  taken  from  Rumania  and  given  to  Russia, 


624    RUSSIA  AFTER  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  [§  881 

Turkey  thus  lost  much  of  her  former  territory.  There  were, 
however,  still  left  in  Europe  under  the  direct  authority  of  the 
Sultan  five  million  or  more  subjects  of  whom  at  least  half  were 
Christian  in  religion  and  non-Turkish  in  race.  The  interests  of 
these  peoples  were  thus  sacrificed  to  the  rival  ambitions  and 
mutual  jealousies  of  the  great  powers.  Time  brought  retribution 
for  the  great  crime.  It  was  the  evil  rule  of  the  Turk  in  these 
regions  — the  great  powers  weakly  allowing  him  to  ignore  all  his 
promises  of  reform — which  was  one  of  the  direct  causes  of  the 
Balkan  wars  of  1912-1913,  the  prelude  to  the  tragedy  of  1914- 

II.  THE  EMANCIPATION  OF  THE  SERFS,  AND  THE 
LIBERAL  MOVEMENT 

881.  Emancipation  of  the  Russian  Serfs  (1861).  The  name 
of  Tsar  Ale.xander  II  (1855-1881)  will  live  in  history  as  the 
Emancipator  of  the  forty-six  millions  of  Russian  serfs.  In  order 
to  render  intelligible  what  emancipation  meant  for  the  serfs,  a 
word  is  needed  respecting  the  former  land  system  in  Russia 
and  the  personal  status  of  the  serf. 

As  to  the  first,  the  estate  of  the  lord  was  divided  into  two  parts, 
the  smaller  of  which  was  reserved  by  the  proprietor  for  his  own 
use,  the  larger  being  allotted  to  his  serfs,  who  formed  a  village 
community  known  as  the  Mir} 

Besides  working  the  village  lands,  the  fruits  of  which  were 
enjoyed  by  the  serfs,  the  villagers  were  obliged  to  till  the  lands 
of  the  lord,  three  days  in  a  week  being  the  usual  service  required. 
The  serfs  were  personally  subject  to  the  lord  to  the  extent  that  he 
might  flog  them  in  case  of  disobedience,  but  he  could  not  sell  them 
individually  as  slaves  are  sold;  yet  when  he  sold  his  estate  the 
whole  community  of  serfs  passed  with  it  to  the  new  proprietor. 

'  'l"his  social  and  economic  group  affords  the  key  to  much  of  the  historj'  of  the  Russian 
people.  It  is  the  Russian  counterpart  of  the  viliape  of  serfs  on  the  mediaeval  manor  of 
western  Europe.  It  is  a  cluster  of  a  dozen  or  perhaps  a  hundred  families,  —  a  clan  settled 
down  to  agricultural  life.  At  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hun- 
dred Russians  were  members  of  Min.  At  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  about  nine 
tenths  of  the  people  were  living  in  these  little  villages. 


§882]       THE  LIBERAL  MOVEMENT  IN  RUSSL\  625 

The  Emancipation  Code,  "the  Magna  Carta  of  the  Russian 
peasant,"  which  was  promulgated  in  1861,  required  the  masters 
of  the  peasant  serfs  to  give  them  the  lands  they  had  farmed  for 
themselves,  for  which,  however,  they  were  to  make  some  fixed 
return  in  labor  or  rent/  The  lands  thus  acquired  became  the 
common  property  of  the  village.  All  other  serfs,  such  as  house 
servants  and  operatives  in  factories,  were  to  gain  their  freedom  at 
the  end  of  two  years'  additional  service,  during  which  time,  how- 
ever, they  were  to  receive  fair  wages. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  our  South- 
ern States,  the  emancipation  of  the  Russian  serfs  did  not  meet  all 
the  hopeful  expectations  of  the  friends  of  the  reform.  One  cause 
of  the  unsatisfactory  outcome  of  the  measure  was  that  the  villagers 
did  not  get  enough  land,  save  in  those  districts  where  the  earth 
is  very  rich,  to  enable  them  to  support  themselves  by  its  tillage. 
Hence  many  of  them  left  their  allotments  and  went  to  the  cities, 
and  others  fell  into  debt  and  became  the  victims  of  heartless 
usurers. 

882.  The  Liberal  Movement  in  Russia ;  Nihilism  and 
Terrorism.  From  181 5  onward  there  was  a  growing  protest  in 
Russia  against  the  despotic  government  of  the  Tsar.  This  move- 
ment was  nothing  else  than  the  outworking  in  Russia  of  the  ideas 
of  the  French  Revolution.  If  some  definite  beginning  of  the  move- 
ment be  sought,  this  may  be  found  in  the  events  of  1813-1815. 
In  those  years,  as  it  has  been  put,  the  whole  Russian  army,  like 
the  great  Tsar  Peter,  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  West,  and, 
like  Peter,  they  got  some  new  ideas.  This  was  simply  a  repeti- 
tion of  what  had  occurred  in  the  case  of  those  Frenchmen  who 
in  1776  went  to  America  to  take  part  in  the  War  of  American 
Independence  (sect.  740). 

Those  carrying  on  this  propaganda  of  liberalism  were  known 
after  1862  as  Nihilists.    They  are  found  especially  in  the  faculties 

1  The  serfs  on  the  crown  and  state  lands,  about  23,000,000  in  number,  had  already 
been  freed  by  special  edicts  (the  first  issued  in  July,  1858).  They  were  given  at  once, 
without  any  return  being  exacted,  the  lands  thev  had  so  long  tilled  as  nominal  bondsmen. 
We  say  iioiiiiiiul  bondsmen,  since  this  class  labored  under  only  a  few  restrictions  and 
were  subject  to  the  payment  merely  of  a  light  rent. 


62  6    RUSSIA  AFTER  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA  [§  883 

and  among  the  students  of  the  universities.  Their  fundamental 
demands  were  for  constitutional  representative  government,  the 
reform  of  the  judicial  system,  and  the  removal  of  the  restriction 
upon  free  discussion  of  public  matters.  In  a  word,  they  demanded 
that  the  Russian  people  should  have  all  those  rights  and  immu- 
nities which  the  peoples  of  western  Europe  were  enjoying. 

At  the  time  of  the  Russo-Turkish  War  of  1878-1879  the  liberal 
movement  assumed  a  violent  phase, —  just  as  the  Revolution  in 
France  did  in  1793, — being  then  transformed  into  what  is  known 
as  Terrorism.  Nihilism  took  this  form  under  the  persecutions  and 
repressions  of  the  government.  The  principle  of  the  extreme 
Nihilists,  or  Terrorists,  that  assassination  is  a  righteous  means  of 
political  reform  was  now  acted  upon.  The  Tsar,  Alexander  II, 
was  assassinated  (1881).  After  that  event  the  government  be- 
came even  more  cruelly  despotic  and  repressive  than  before. 

Finland  particularly  was  the  victim  of  this  ruthless  and  irre- 
sponsible despotism.  This  country  was  ceded  to  Russia  by  Sweden 
in  1809.  It  formed  a  grand  duchy  of  the  Russian  Empire.  It 
had  a  liberal  constitution  which  the  Tsars  had  sworn  to  main- 
tain and  which  secured  the  Finns  a  full  measure  of  local  self- 
government.  Under  their  constitution  the  Finns,  who  number  about 
two  million  souls,  were  a  loyal,  contented,  and  prosperous  people. 
During  the  years  1 899-1902  the  Tsar  Nicholas  II  by  a  series  of 
imperial  decrees  practically  annulled  the  ancient  Finnish  con- 
stitution and  reduced  the  country  to  the  condition  of  an  adminis- 
trative district  of  the  empire.  In  a  word,  Finland  was  made  a 
second  Poland. 

883.  The  Calling  of  the  Duma  (1905).  There  could  of  course 
be  but  one  outcome  to  this  contest  between  the  "Autocrat  of  all 
the  Russias  " '  and  his  subjects.  The  Tsar  of  Russia  was  simply 
fighting  the  hopeless  battle  that  has  been  fought  and  lost  by  so 

1  It  was  only  theoretically  that  the  Tsar  was  the  autocratic  ruk-r  of  Russia.  The 
power  behind  the  throne,  the  actual  ruler,  was  the  hierarchy  of  officials,  who  constituted 
what  is  known  as  a  bureaucracy.  This  body  of  narrow-minded,  selfish,  and  corrupt  officials 
has  been  well  likened  to  the  monster  in  Mrs.  Shelley's  romance  Frankenstein.  Like 
that  monster  it  got  beyond  the  control  of  its  creator  and  committed  wanton  and 
revolting  crimes. 


§883]  THE  CALLING  OF  THE  DUMA  627 

many  despotic  sovereigns,  a  battle  which  has  ever  the  same  issue, — 
the  triumph  of  liberal  principles  and  the  admission  of  the  people 
to  participation  in  the  government. 

The  Russo-Japanese  War  of  1 904-1 905,  by  utterly  discrediting 
the  corrupt,  unscrupulous,  and  incapable  government  of  the  autoc- 
racy, brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  The  people,  forced  to  make 
unheard-of  sacrifices  of  life  and  treasure  to  carry  on  a  disastrous 
war  in  which  they  had  neither  voice  nor  interest,  arose  in  virtual 
insurrection.  The  Tsar,  finally  constrained  to  promise  the  people 
a  share  in  the  government,  convened  in  1905  a  body  called  the 
Duma,  or  National  Assembly,  composed  of  representatives  elected 
by  the  people. 

Although  the  Duma  was  at  first  really  nothing  more  than  a 
consultative  body,  it  soon  gained  legislative  powers  and  gradually 
acquired  such  a  position  in  the  government  that,  in  the  midst  of 
the  stress  of  the  great  European  war,  it  became  for  a  time  the 
rallying-point  of  the  movement  which  resulted  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  monarchy  and  the  establishment  of  a  republic  (1917). 
The  story  of  this  momentous  revolution  forms  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  World  War,  being  one  of  the  outcomes  of  that 
titanic  struggle. 

References.  Rambaud,  A.,  History  of  Russia,  vol.  iii.  Leroy-Beaulieu,  A., 
The  Empire  of  the  Tsars  and  the  Russians,  3  vols.  Morfill,  W.  R.,  The  Story 
of  Russia,  chaps,  x  and  xi.  Stepniak  (pseudonym),  The  Ricssian  Peasantry. 
Noin.E,  E.,  The  Russian  Revolt  and  Russia  and  the  Russians.  Seignobos,  C, 
^  Political  History  of  Europe,  pp.  638-670. 


CHAPTER  LXXIV 

THE  NEW  INDUSTRIALISM 

884.  The  Physical  Basis  of  the  New  Industrialism,  We 
have  already  noted  the  beginnings  in  England  of  the  new  indus- 
trialism created  by  the  great  inventions  which  marked  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century  (sect.  730).  In  the  decade  between 
1830  and  1840  the  industrial  development  thus  initiated  received 
a  great  impulse  through  the  bringing  to  practical  perfection  of 
several  of  the  earlier  inventions  and  by  new  discoveries  and  fresh 
inventions.  Prominent  among  these  were  the  steam  railway,  the 
electric  telegraph,  and  the  ocean  steamship.  In  the  year  1830 
George  Stephenson  exhibited  the  first  really  successful  locomotive. 
In  1836  Morse  perfected  the  telegraph.  In  1838  ocean  steamship 
navigation  was  first  practically  solved.  In  their  relation  to  the  new 
industrial  epoch,  these  inventions  may  be  compared  to  the  three 
great  inventions  or  discoveries  (printing,  gunpowder,  and  the 
mariner's  cornpass)  which  ushered  in  the  Modern  Age  (sect.  537). 

Somewhat  later,  to  these  parent  inventions  were  added  new  proc- 
esses for  making  iron  and  steel,  which  equipped  the  new  industry ; 
the  electric  engine,  which  brought  in  the  trolley  car ;  the  gasoline 
motor,  which  gave  the  world  the  automobile  and  the  airplane  ;  and 
innumerable  other  inventions  and  mechanical  appliances  of  science. 
These  form  the  physical  basis  of  the  new  industrialism. 

885.  Characteristics  of  the  New  Industrialism.  First,  the 
new  industrialism  substituted  machine  production  for  hand  pro- 
duction. This  meant  for  one  thing  an  enormous  increase  in  the 
quantity  of  articles  manufactured  for  human  use. 

Second,  the  new  industrialism  transferred  the  chief  industries 
from  the  home  to  the  factory.  This,  as  we  shall  see,  has  had 
a  profound  and  far-reaching  influence  upon  the  family  group, 
especially  upon  the  women  members  of  it. 

628 


§886]    GRADUAL  SPREAD  OF  THE  NEW  SYSTEM      629 

Third,  the  new  industrialism,  hastening  a  development  already 
in  progress,  brought  in  the  capitalistic  system  of  industry.  Under 
this  system  those  engaged  in  the  industrial  life  of  society  are 
divided  into  two  chief  classes  :  namely,  capitalistic  employers,  a 
comparatively  small  class  who  furnish  the  large  amount  of  capital 
needed  to  carry  on  manufacturing  and  other  enterprises  in  the 
large  way  required  by  the  new  industrialism;  and  workmen,  com- 
prising the  larger  part  of  the  industrial  population,  who  sell  their 
labor  to  the  capitalistic  employers  for  a  certain  wage. 

886.  Gradual  Spread  of  the  New  System.  Besides  bearing  in 
mind  these  important  features  of  the  new  industry,  we  should  also 
note  the  fact  that  it  was  only  gradually  that  the  new  method  of 
manufacturing  was  introduced  into  the  different  countries.  As 
we  have  learned,  the  revolution  began  in  England  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
French  Revolution  had  transformed  the  chief  national  manufac- 
tures, particularly  the  production  of  hardware  and  of  cotton  and 
woolen  goods.  Two  or  three  decades  later  the  industries  of  the 
leading  countries  of  western  continental  Europe  were  transformed. 
In  Russia  the  revolution  was  only  fairly  under  way  at  the  opening 
of  the  war  of  19 14.  China  was  only  just  beginning  to  feel  the 
effects  of  the  new  mode  of  production.  In  the  course  of  time  the 
revolution  must  inevitably  penetraie  all  the  countries  of  the  world, 
for  the  old  hand  processes  of  manufacture  cannot  compete  with 
the  new  power-machine  methods  of  production. 

In  the  following  sections  we  shall  note  how  the  new  industrialism 
has  reacted  upon  the  political,  the  social,  and  the  economic  life 
of  the  peoples  that  have  come  under  its  transforming  influence. 

887.  Political  Results  of  the  New  Industrialism.  The  new 
industrialism  has  furthered  greatly  the  Political  Revolution,  that 
democratic  movement  of  the  last  two  centuries  which  we  have 
been  following.  It  has  done  this  largely  by  developing  city  life. 
The.  factory  system  of  manufacturing  requires  the  concentration 
of  the  working  population  at  the  great  industrial  centers.  Hence 
the  population  of  the  countries  that  have  come  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  new  industry,  from  being  predominantly  rural  and 


630  THE  NEW  INDUSTRIALISM  [§  888 

agricultural,  has  become  predominantly  urban  and  industrial. 
Now,  city  life  fosters  democracy.  Through  daily  contact  with  one 
another,  through  exchange  of  ideas,  through  increased  opportu- 
nities for  collective  action,  the  dwellers  of  the  city  become  less 
conservative  than  country  people  and  more  ready  to  engage  in 
political  activities  and  projects  of  reform.^  Hence  the  new  indus- 
try, through  the  concentration  of  the  population  of  the  industrial 
nations  in  large  cities,  has  given  a  great  impulse  to  the  develop- 
ment of  government  by  the  people. 

Another  important  political  result  of  the  new  industrialism  has 
been  the  intensifying  of  international  rivalries.  The  increased 
production  of  the  great  factories,  mills,  and  workshops  of  the 
new  industry  has  impelled  the  manufacturers  to  seek  foreign 
and  distant  markets  for  their  surplus  goods.  This  has  intensified 
the  competition  among  the  great  industrial  nations  for  the  control 
of  the  world's  markets,  and  has  led  governments  to  establish 
protectorates,  acquire  dependencies,  and  even  to  seek  to  get  com- 
plete political  control  of  the  lands  of  backward,  semi-civilized, 
and  decadent  peoples,  in  order  thereby  to  gain  new  outlets  for 
the  surplus  manufactures  of  the  national  industries,  or  to  secure 
the  native  products  of  these  overseas  countries  for  use  as  raw 
material  in  the  home  industries  and  arts.  This  sharp  international 
competition  thus  induced  has  been  one  of  the  most  important 
factors  in  the  history  of  the  last  two  or  three  decades.  It  was 
one  of  the  contributory  causes  of  the  World  War,  which  will  be 
the  subject  of  a  later  chapter. 

888.  Relation  of  the  New  Industrialism  to  the  Woman's 
Movement.  The  new  industrialism,  as  we  have  seen,  has  trans- 
ferred various  of  the  industries  and  arts  formerly  carried  on  in 
the  home,  and  largely  by  the  women  members  of  the  family,  from 
the  home  to  the  factory.  The  women  have  followed  the  work, 
and  thus  have  entered  into  industrial  competition  with  the  men. 
Naturally,  this  new  place  and  role  in  the  industrial  life  of  society 
has  led  them  to  seek  emancipation  from  the  various  disabilities 

1  It  will  be  recalled  how  the  media;val  towns  were  the  birthplace  of  political 
freedom  (cf.  sect.  476). 


§889]  THE  LABOR  PROBLEM  631 

under  which  they  have  labored  from  time  immemorial,  and  to 
demand  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  equal  participation  with  men 
in  the  making  of  laws  and  in  the  conduct  of  the  government  under 
which  they  live.  This  woman's  movement  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  significant  which  the  new  industrialism  has  created,  or 
to  which  it  has  given  fresh  force  and  urgency. 

889.  The  Labor  Problem.  The  new  industrialism  has  created 
many  problems  of  an  economic  nature.  Beyond  question  the  one 
most  deeply  charged  with  grave  import  for  society  is  the  so-called 
Labor  Problem.  This  problem,  viewed  in  its  most  important 
aspect,  may  be  stated  thus:  How  are  the  products  of  the  world's 
industry  to  be  equitably  distributed? 

The  condition  of  things  is  this:  Through  the  employment  of 
the  forces  of  nature  and  the  use  of  improved  machinery,  economic 
goods,  that  is,  things  which  meet  the  wants  of  men,  can  be 
produced  in  almost  unlimited  quantities.  But  this  increase  in 
society's  efficiency  in  industrial  production  has  not  entirely  solved 
our  economic  problems,  for  there  are  still  many  who  are  very  poor 
despite  the  enormous  total  wealth  of  the  world.  Under  the  pres- 
ent mode  of  distribution,  in  which  the  total  product  of  the  com- 
bined effort  of  capital  and  labor  is  apportioned  as  rent,  interest, 
wages,  and  profit,  the  few  secure  a  disproportionate  share  of  the 
output  of  the  new  industry.  Great  monopolies  or  trusts  have 
been  created  and  fabulous  fortunes  have  been  amassed  by  a  few 
individuals,  while  the  great  majority  of  the  unskilled  laborers 
for  wages  have  had  their  toil  lightened  and  their  remuneration 
increased  by  far  less  rapid  stages. 

This  slowness  with  which  we  have  progressed  toward  the  equi- 
table distribution  of  wealth,  of  material  well-being,  and  of  the 
benefits  and  enjoyments  of  modern  civilization  has  created 
dangerous  discontent  in  the  ranks  of  the  manual  workers,  espe- 
cially of  those  who  are  least  educated  and  so  least  familiar  with 
the  slow  steps  by  which  substantial  and  enduring  progress  has 
usually  been  made.  This  discontent  finds  expression  in  strikes 
and  agitation  for  the  more  rapid  improvement  of  their  economic 
condition. 


632  THE  NEW  INDUSTRIALISM  [§890 

890.  Socialism  and  Industrial  Democracy.  Among  many 
proposed  solutions  of  the  labor  problem,  such  as  profit-sharing,  and 
boards  of  conciliation  to  adjust  disputes  between  employers  and 
employed  about  wages,  hours  of  employment,  and  general  conditions 
of  labor,  the  one  that  has  provoked  most  discussion  and  assumed 
greatest  historical  significance  is  that  offered  by  the  socialists.' 

The  core  or  essence  of  true  socialism  is  common  ownership 
and  management  of  all  industrial  instruments  and  enterprises. 
Just  as  our  government — local,  state,  or  national  —  now  owns 
schoolhouses  and  controls  education,  owns  and  conducts  the  post 
office,  municipal  waterworks,  and  other  public  utilities,  so  would 
the  socialists  have  all  governments,  by  the  more  or  less  gradual 
extension  of  their  functions,  assume  possession  and  control  of  the 
railways,  the  telegraph  and  telephone  systems,  the  mines,  the  mills, 
the  factories,  the  land  —  in  a  word,  all  industrial  instruments  and 
undertakings.  They  would  thus  do  away  with  the  present  wage  sys- 
tem and  private  capital,  but  not  with  private  or  individual  property. 

The  programme  of  the  socialists  has,  however,  made  slow  prog- 
ress in  Great  Britain  and  America.  In  both  lands  it  is  usually 
viewed  as  involving  too  fundamental  a  change  in  the  present  system 
of  industry  to  be  adopted  as  a  whole  in  the  near  future.  Indeed, 
recent  experiences  in  government  control  of  industry  during  the 
emergency  of  war  have  led  many  progressive  thinkers  among  both 
employers  and  employed  to  fear  greater  evils  under  a  system  of 
socialism  than  those  that  we  now  endure.  They  point,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  the  frightful  conditions  to  which  communism  —  an  ex- 
treme form  of  socialism — has  led  in  Russia  and  elsewhere  and,  on 
the  other,  to  the  slow  but  certain  progress  that  the  present  system 
is  making  toward  a  fairer  division  of  the  returns  from  all  industry. 

References.  Schakfkle,  A.  E.  F.,  The  Quinteasence  of  Socialism.  Ely,  R.  T., 
Socialiim  and  Social  Reform.  Sl'ARGO,  J.,  Socialism,  a  Summary  and  Interpre- 
tation of  Socialist  Principles.  Seignohos,  C.  Historx'  of  Contemporary  Civiliza- 
tion, pp.  425-436.  Cunningham,  W.,  Western  Civilization  in  its  Economic 
Aspects  (Meili(rval  and  APodern  Times),  pp.  225-267. 

1  The  father  of  German  socialism,  which  is  the  most  influential  body  of  socialistic 
doctrine  in  the  world,  was  Karl  Marx  (iSiS-iSSj). 


CHAPTER  LXXV 

EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  AND  THE 
EARLY  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

I.  CAUSES  AND  GENERAL  PHASES  OF  THE  EXPANSION 
MOVEMENT 

891.  Significance  of  the  Expansion  of  Europe  into  Greater 
Europe.  In  speaking  of  the  establishment  of  the  European 
colonies  and  settlements  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies we  likened  this  expansion  of  Europe  into  Greater  Europe 
to  the  expansion  in  antiquity  of  Greece  into  Greater  Greece 
and  Rome  into  Greater  Rome.  We  have  now  to  say  something 
of  the  later  phases  of  this  wonderful  outward  movement  of  the 
European  peoples. 

In  the  first  place  we  should  note  that  it  is  this  expansion  move- 
ment which  gives  such  significance  to  that  intellectual,  moral, 
and  political  development  of  the  European  peoples  which  we 
have  been  studying.  This  evolution  might  well  be  likened  to 
the  religious  evolution  in  ancient  Judea.  That  development  of  a 
new  religion  was  a  matter  of  transcendent  importance  because 
the  new  faith  was  destined  not  for  a  little  corner  of  the  earth 
but  for  all  the  world.  Likewise  the  creation  by  Renaissance, 
Reformation,  and  Revolution  of  a  new,  rich,  and  progressive 
civilization  in  Europe  is  a  matter  of  vast  importance  to  universal 
history  because  that  civilization  has  manifestly  been  wrought  out 
not  for  a  single  continent  or  for  a  single  race  but  for  all  the 
continents  and  for  all  mankind. 

We  are  now  to  see  how  the  bearers  of  this  new  culture  have 
carried  or  are  carrying  it  to  all  lands  and  are  communicating 
it  to  all  peoples,  thereby  opening  up  a  new  era  not  alone  in  the 
history  of  Europe  but  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

633 


634  GENERAL  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  [§892 

892.  The  Fate  of  the  Earlier  Colonial  Empires;  Decline  and 
Revival  of  Interest  in  Colonies.  The  history  we  have  narrated 
has  indicated  the  fate  of  all  the  colonial  empires  founded  by  the 
various  European  nations  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  The  magnificent  Portuguese  Empire  soon  became  the 
spoil  of  the  Dutch  and  the  English;  France  lost  her  colonial 
possessions  to  England;  a  great  part  of  the  colonies  of  the  Dutch 
also  finally  fell  into  English  hands;  before  the  end  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  England  lost  through  revolution  her  thirteen  colo- 
nies in  North  America  ;  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  Spain  in  like  manner  lost  all  her  dependencies  on  the 
mainland   of   the   New   World. 

After  these  discouraging  experiences  with  their  colonies  the 
governments  of  Europe  lost  interest  for  a  while  in  possessions 
beyond  the  seas.  Statesmen  came  to  hold  the  doctrine  that 
colonies  are  'Tike  fruit,  which  as  soon  as  ripe  falls  from  the 
tree."  The  English  minister  Disraeli,  in  referring  to  England's 
colonial  possessions,  once  used  these  words:  "Those  wretched 
colonies  are  millstones  about  our  neck." 

Before  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  fostered  by 
different  causes,  there  sprang  up  a  most  extraordinary  revival  of 
interest  in  colonies  and  dependencies,  and  the  leading  European 
states  began  to  compete  eagerly  for  over-the-sea  possessions.  Dur- 
ing the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
almost  all  the  old  colonizing  peoples  of  Europe  were  exerting 
themselves  to  the  utmost  to  build  up  new  empires  to  take  the 
place  of  those  they  had  lost,  while  other  nations  that  had  never 
possessed  colonies  now  also  entered  into  competition  with  those 
earlier  in  the  field. 

893.  Stanley's  Discoveries  open  up  the  "Dark  Continent." 
By  this  time,  however,  almost  all  lands  outside  of  Europe  suited 
to  permanent  European  settlement  were  closed  against  true  coloni- 
zation by  having  been  appropriated  by  England,  or  through 
their  being  in  the  control  of  independent  states  that  had 
grown  out  of  colonies  planted  by  immigrants  of  European  speech 
and  blood. 


'^  Med  i  t( 

(Port.)     //^s  J/    ;^       V         \^^ Tripoli 

Morocco  / 


Port  Eli^beth 


§894] 


THE  TARTITION  OF  AFRICA 


635 


Africa,  however,  was  still  left.  For  a  century  intrepid  explorers 
had  been  endeavoring  to  uncover  the  mysteries  of  that  continent. 
Among  these  was  the  missionary-explorer  David  Livingstone.  He 
died  in  1873.  His  mantle  fell  upon  Henry  M.  Stanley,  who  a  short 
time  after  the  death  of  Livingstone  set  out  on  an  adventurous 
expedition  across  Africa'  (1S74-1877),  in  which  journey  he 
discovered  the  course  of  the  Congo 
and  learned  the  nature  of  its  great 
basin.  Not  since  the  age  of  Colum- 
bus had  there  been  any  discoveries  in 
the  domain  of  geography  comparable 
in  importance  to  these  of  Stanley. 
Stanley  gave  the  world  an  account 
of  his  journey  in  a  book  bearing  the 
title  Through  the  Dark  Continent. 
The  appearance  of  this  work  marks 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of  x'\frica. 
It  inspired  innumerable  enterprises, 
political,  commercial,  and  philan- 
thropic, whose  aim  was  to  develop 
the  natural  resources  of  the  continent 
and   to  open   it   up   to   civilization. 

894.  The  Partition  of  Africa.  The  discoveries  of  Stanley  and 
the  founding  of  the  Congo  Free  State-  were  the  signal  for  a  scram- 
ble among  the  powers  of  Europe  for  African  territory.  England, 
France,  and  Germany  were  the  strongest  competitors  and  they 
got  the  largest  shares.  In  less  than  a  generation  Africa  became 
a  dependency  of  Europe.  The  only  native  states  retaining  their 
independence  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  19 14  were  .Abyssinia 
and  the  negro  republic  of  Liberia.  The  government  of  the  latter 
was  in  the  hands  of  American  freedmen  or  their  descendants. 


Fig.  143.  Henry  M.  Stanley 
(From  a  photograph) 


1  Stanley  had  made  an  earlier  expedition  (1871-1872)  in  search  of  Livingstone. 

2  From  1 882,  the  year  of  the  actual  founding  of  the  state,  until  190S  the  country 
was  merely  an  appanage  of  the  Belgian  crown.  In  1908  Leopold  II,  king  of  the  Belgians, 
ceded  the  state  (now  the  Belgian  Congo)  to  Belgium.  Important  products  of  the  country 
are  rubber,  palm-nuts,  and  cocoa.  Cotton  and  tobacco  are  successfully  cultivated. 
Recent  estimates  of  the   poinilatiun  of  the  colony  vaiy  from  9,000,000  to   15,000,000. 


636  THE  EXPANSION  OF  ENGLAND  [§  S95 

This  transference  of  the  control  of  the  affairs  of  Africa  from 
the  hands  of  its  native  inhabitants  or  those  of  Asiatic  Moham- 
medan intruders  to  the  hands  of  Europeans  is  without  question 
the  most  mornentous  transaction  in  the  history  of  that  continent, 
and  one  which  must  shape  its  future  destiny.  In  the  following 
sections  of  this  chapter,  in  which  we  propose  briefly  to  rehearse 
the  part  which  each  of  the  leading  European  states  has  taken  in 
the  general  expansion  movement,  we  shall  speak  of  the  part  which 
each  played  in  the  partition  of  Africa  and  tell  what  each  secured. 

II.    THE  EXPANSION  OF  ENGLAND 

895.  England  in  America ;  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The 
separation  of  the  thirteen  American  colonies  from  England  in 
1776  seemed  to  give  a  fatal  blow  to  English  hopes  of  establishing 
a  great  colonial  empire  in  America.  But  half  of  North  America 
still  remained  in  English  hands.  Gradually  the  attractions  of 
British  North  America  as  a  dwelling  place  for  settlers  of  Euro- 
pean stock  became  known.  Immigration,  mostly  from  the  British 
Isles,  increased  in  volume,  so  that  the  population  rose  from  about 
a  quarter  of  a  million  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  to 
over  seven  millions  (estimated)  in  19 14.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant matters  in  the  political  history  of  Canada  since  the  country 
passed  under  English  rule  is  the  granting  of  responsible  govern- 
ment to  the  provinces  in  1841.^  This  concession  of  complete  self- 
government  was  followed,  in  1867,  by  the  union  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick  in  a  federal 
state  under  the  name  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Later  the 
confederation  was  joined  by  British  Columbia,  Prince  Edward 
Island,  and  other  provinces.  Newfoundland  has  steadily  refused 
to  join  the  union. 

The  political  union  of  the  provinces  made  possible  the  success- 
ful accomplishment  of  one  of  the  great  engineering  undertakings  of 
our  age.    This  was  the  construction  of  a  transcontinental  railroad 

1  The  treaty-making  power  and  matters  of  peace  and  war  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
English  government. 


§896]  ENGLAND  IN  AUSTRALASIA  637 

(the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway)  from  Montreal  to  Vancouver. 
This  road  has  done  for  the  confirming  of  the  federal  union 
and  for  the  industrial  development  of  the  Dominion  what 
the  building  of  similar  transcontinental  lines  has  done  for  the 
United  States.^ 

In  the  World  War  of  19 14-19 18  the  Dominion  was  stanchly 
loyal  to  the  motherland,  sending  more  than  four  hundred  thousand 
soldiers  to  fight  by  the  side  of  the  soldiers  of  Great  Britain  and 
of  her  other  overseas  dominions. 

By  reason  of  its  vast  geographical  extent, — its  area  is  more 
than  thirty-five  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  British  Isles, — its 
inexhaustible  mineral  deposits,  its  unrivaled  fisheries,  its  limitless 
forests,  grazing  lands,  and  wheat  fields,  its  bracing  climate,  and, 
above  all,  its  free  institutions,  the  Dominion  of  Canada  seems 
marked  out  to  be  one  of  the  great  future  homes  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race. 

896.  England  in  Australasia-;  the  Proclamation  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Australia  (1901).  About  the  time  that  England 
lost  her  American  colonies  the  celebrated  navigator  Captain  Cook 
reached  and  explored  the  shores  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia 
( 1 769-1 771).  Disregarding  the  claims  of  earlier  visitors  to  these 
lands,  he  took  possession  of  the  islands  for  the  British  crown. 

The  best  use  to  which  England  could  at  first  think  to  put  the 
new  lands  was  to  make  them  a  place  of  exile  for  criminals.  The 
first  shipload  of  convicts  was  landed  at  Botany  Bay  in  Australia 
in  1788.  But  the  agricultural  riches  of  large  districts  of  the  new 
lands, —  the  interior  of  Australia  is  a  hopeless  desert, —  their 
adaptability  to  stock  raising,  and  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate 
soon  drew  to  them  a  stream  of  English  immigrants.    In   1851 

1  In  1914  a  second  still  longer  transcontinental  line  (the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Rail- 
way), running  from  a  point  in  New  Brunswick  to  Prince  Rupert,  British  Columbia,  was 
completed. 

2  Australasia,  meaning  "south  land  of  Asia,"  is  the  name  under  which  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  are  comprehended.  Here,  as  in  South  Africa,  in  Canada,  and  in  India, 
England  appeared  late  on  the  ground.  The  Spaniards  and  the  Dutch  h.id  both  preceded 
her.  The  presence  of  the  Dutch  is  witnessed  by  the  names  New  Holland  (the  earlier 
name  of  Australia),  Van  Diemen's  Land  (the  original  name  of  Tasmania),  and  New 
Zealand,  attaching  to  the  greater  islands. 


638  THE  EXPANSION  OF  ENGLAND  [§897 

came  the  announcement  of  the  discovery  in  Australia  of  fabulously 
rich  deposits  of  gold,  and  then  set  in  a  tide  of  immigration  such 
as  the  world  has  seldom  seen. 

Before  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  five  flourishing 
colonies  (New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Queensland,  South  Aus- 
tralia, and  West  Australia),  with  an  aggregate  population,  includ- 
ing that  of  the  neighboring  island  of  Tasmania,  of  almost  four 
millions  (by  19 14  this  number  had  increased  to  about  five  mil- 
lions), had  grown  up  along  the  fertile  well-watered  rim  of  the 
Australian  continent  and  had  developed  free  institutions  similar 
to  those  of  the  mother  country. 

The  chief  political  event  in  the  history  of  these  colonies  before 
the  beginning  of  the  World  War  was  their  consolidation,  just 
at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  (1901),  into  the  Common- 
wealth of  Australia,  a  federal  union  similar  to  our  own.^ 

Like  Canada,  Australia,  together  with  New  Zealand,  made  great 
sacrifices  in  blood  and  treasure  to  uphold  the  cause  of  the  mother- 
land and  her  allies  in  the  tremendous  contest  that  began  in  Europe 
in  1914. 

The  vast  possibilities  of  the  future  of  this  new  Anglo-Saxon 
commonwealth  in  the  South  Pacific — the  area  of  Australia  is  only 
a  little  less  than  that  of  the  United  States — have  impressed  in  an 
unwonted  way  the  imagination  of  the  world.  It  is  possible  that 
in  the  coming  times  this  new  Britain  will  hold  some  such  place 
of  dominance  in  the  Pacific  as  the  motherland  now  holds  in 
the  Atlantic. 

897.  England  in  Asia.  We  have  noted  the  founding  of  the 
liritish  Indian  Empire  (sect.  726).  Throughout  the  nineteenth 
century  England  steadily  advanced  the  frontiers  of  her  dominions 
here  and  consolidated  her  power  until  by  the  opening  of  the 
twentieth  century  she  had  brought  either  under  her  direct  rule  or 
under  her  suzerainty  over  three  hundred  millions  of  Asiatics.^ 

1  New  Zealand  was  not  included  in  the  federation.  It,  together  with  some  neigh- 
boring islands,  constitutes  a  self-governing  Dominion.  It  has  a  population,  exclusive  of 
natives,  of  slightly  over  a  million  (census  of  iqii). 

2  By  the  census  of  ujoi  the  population  of  the  British  Indian  Empire  (this  includes 
the  feudatory  states)  was  294,461,056;  by  the  census  of  191 1  it  was  .Ii5,i5^',.19'). 


§897]  ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  639 

We  must  here  note  how  England's  occupation  of  India  and 
her  large  interests  in  the  trade  of  southern  and  eastern  Asia 
involved  her  during  the  nineteenth  century  in  several  wars  and 
shaped  in  great  measure  her  foreign  policies.  One  of  the  earliest 
of  these  wars  was  that  known  as  the  Afghan  War  of  1 838-1 842, 
into  which  she  was  drawn  through  her  policy  of  maintaining 
Afghanistan  as  a  buffer  state  between  India  and  Russia. 

At  the  same  time  England  became  involved  in  the  so-called 
Opium  War  with  China^  (1839-1842).  As  a  result  of  this  war 
England  obtained  by  cession  from  China  the  island  and  port  of 
Hongkong,  which  she  has  made  one  of  the  most  important  com- 
mercial and  naval  stations  of  her  Empire. 

Scarcely  was  the  Opium  War  ended  before  England  was  in- 
volved in  a  gigantic  struggle  with  Russia, — the  Crimean  War, 
already  spoken  of  in  connection  with  Russian  history.  Before 
the  echoes  of  this  war  had  died  away  England  was  startled  by  the 
most  alarming  intelligence  from  the  country  for  the  secure  posses- 
sion of  which  English  soldiers  had  borne  their  part  in  the  fierce 
struggle  before  Sevastopol.  In  1857  there  broke  out  in  the  armies 
of  the  East  India  Company  (sect.  667)  what  is  known  as  the 
Sepoy  Mutiny.  Fortunately  many  of  the  native  regiments  stood 
firm  in  their  allegiance  to  England,  and  with  their  aid  the  revolt 
was  speedily  crushed.  As  a  consequence  of  the  mutiny  the  govern- 
ment of  India  was  by  act  of  Parliament  taken  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  East  India  Company  and  vested  in  the  English  crown. 

There  are  without  ciuestion  offsets  to  the  indisputably  good 
results  of  English  rule  in  India ;  nevertheless  it  is  one  of  the  most 
important  facts  of  modern  history,  and  one  of  special  import  as 
bearing  on  our  present  study,  that  over  three  hundred  millions 
of  the  population  of  Asia  should  thus  have  passed  under  the  rule 
and  wardship  of  a  European  nation. 

1  The  opium  traflic  between  India  and  China  had  grown  into  gigantic  proportions 
and  had  become  a  source  of  wealth  to  the  British  merchants  and  of  revenue  to  the 
Indian  Government.  The  Chinese  Government,  however,  awake  to  the  evils  of  the 
growing  use  of  the  narcotic,  resisted  the  importation  of  the  drug.  This  was  the  cause 
of  the  war.  The  Chinese  Government  was  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  continuance 
of  the  nefarious  traffic. 


640  THE  EXPANSION  OF  ENGLAND  [§898 

898.  England  in  South  Africa;  Boer  and  Briton.  England 
has  played  a  great  part  in  the  partition  of  Africa.  Her  first  ap- 
pearance upon  the  continent,  both  in  Egypt  and  at  the  Cape,  was 
brought  about  through  her  solicitude  for  her  East  India  possessions 
and  the  security  of  her  routes  thither  Later  she  joined  in  the 
scramble  of  European  powers  for  African  territories  for  their 
own  sake. 

The  Dutch  had  preceded  the  English  in  South  Africa.  They 
began  their  settlement  at  the  Cape  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  in  the  great  days  of  Holland.  After  the  down- 
fall of  Napoleon  in  1814  the  colony  was  ceded  to  England  by 
the  Netherlands.^ 

The  Dutch  settlers  refused  to  become  reconciled  to  the  English 
rule.  In  1836  a  large  number  of  these  aggrieved  colonists  took 
the  heroic  resolve  of  abandoning  their  old  homes  and  going  out 
into  the  African  wilderness  in  search  of  new  ones.  This  migration 
is  known  as  "The  Great  Trek."-  The  immigrants  journeyed  from 
the  Cape  toward  the  northeast,  driving  their  herds  before  them 
and  carrying  their  women  and  children  and  all  their  earthly  goods 
in  great  clumsy  oxcarts.  Beyond  the  Orange  River  some  of  the 
immigrants  unyoked  their  oxen  and  set  up  homes,  laying  there 
the  basis  of  the  Orange  Free  State;  the  more  intrepid  "trekked" 
still  farther  to  the  north,  across  the  Vaal  River,  and  established 
the  republic  of  the  Transvaal. 

Two  generations  passed,  a  period  filled  for  the  little  republics, 
surrounded  by  hostile  African  tribes,  with  anxieties  and  fighting. 
Then  there  came  a  turning  point  in  their  history.  In  the  year 
1885  gold  deposits  of  extraordinary  richness  were  discovered  in 
the  Transvaal.  Straightway  there  began  a  tremendous  inrush  of 
miners  and  adventurers  from  all  parts  of  the  globe. 

A  great  portion  of  these  newcomers  were  English-speaking 
people.    As  aliens — Uitlanders,   "  outlanders,"   they   were  called 

'  After  the  loss  of  the  Cape  Settlement,  the  island  of  Java  was  the  most  important 
colonial  possession  remaining  to  the  Dutch,  (iradually  they  got  possession  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  large  island  of  Sumatra.  These  two  islands  form  the  heart  of  the 
Dutch  East  Indies  of  today,  which  embrace  a  native  population  of  about  36,000,000. 

2  Trci-  is  Dutch  for  '"  migration  "  or  "  journey." 


§  898]  ENGLAND  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  64 1 

—  they  were  excluded  from  any  share  in  the  government,  although 
they  made  up  two  thirds  of  the  population  of  the  state  and  paid 
the  greater  part  of  the  taxes.  They  demanded  the  franchise. 
The  Boers,  under  the  lead  of  the  sturdy  President  of  the  Trans- 
vaal, Paul  Kriiger,  refused  to  accede  to  their  demands,  urging  that 
this  would  mean  practically  the  surrender  of  the  independence  of 
the  Republic  and  its  annexation  to  the  British  Empire. 

The  controversy  grew  more  and  more  bitter  and  soon  ripened 
into  war  between  England  and  the  Transvaal  (1899).  The  Orange 
Free  State  joined  its  little  army  to  that  of  its  sister  state.^  After 
the  maintenance  of  the  struggle  for  over  two  years  the  last  of 
the  Boer  bands  surrendered  (1902).  As  the  outcome  of  the  war 
both  of  the  republics  were  annexed  to  the  British  Empire  under 
the  names  of  the  Transvaal  Colony  and  the  Orange  River  Colony. 

Only  a  few  years  had  passed  after  the  close  of  the  war  when 
the  British  government  very  wisely  granted  the  two  colonies 
self-government.  Straightway  these  states  and  Cape  Colony  with 
Natal  joined  in  the  creation  of  a  federal  commonwealth  under  the 
name  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa-  (1910).  Thus  was  consum- 
mated the  favorite  project  of  the  South  African  statesman  Cecil 
Rhodes  (i 853-1902),  the  ''empire  builder,"  one  of  the  most 
masterful   men   of   his   generation. 

The  act  of  the  British  government  in  intrusting  the  Boers 
with  a  responsible  government  won  in  such  measure  their  loyalty 
to  the  Empire  that  at  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War  in  19 14 
they  rallied — though  not  quite  unanimously — to  the  support 
of  England,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Empire  conquered  German 
Southwest  and  German  East  Africa. 

One  of  the  most  important  enterprises  of  the  English  in  Africa 
is  the  building  of  a  Cape-to-Cairo  railroad.  This,  like  the  political 
scheme  of  a  federation,  was  also  a  favorite  project  of  Cecil  Rhodes. 

1  The  total  European  or  white  population  of  the  two  little  republics  that  thus 
threw  down  the  gage  of  battle  to  the  most  powerful  empire  of  modem  times  was 
only  a  little  over  300,000. 

-The  population  of  the  Union  according  to  the  census  of  191 1  is  about  7,000.000, 
of  which  about  1,250,000  are  of  European  stock  and  the  rest  native  or  colored.  Gold 
and  diamond  mining  is  the  leading  industry. 


642  THE  EXPANSION  OF  FRANCE  [§899 

Already  his  dream  has  been  in  great  part  realized.  This  railway 
when  completed,  as  without  doubt  it  will  be  at  no  remote  date, 
will  be  a  potent  factor  in  the  opening  up  of  the  Dark  Continent 
to  civilization. 

899.  England  in  Egypt.  In  1876  England  and  France  estab- 
lished a  joint  control  over  Egypt  in  order  to  secure  against  loss 
their  subjects  who  were  holders  of  Egyptian  bonds.^  Later  this 
became  a  sole  British  control.- 

No  part  of  the  world  has  benefited  more  by  European  control 
than  Egypt.  When  England  assumed  the  administration  of  its 
affairs  it  was  in  every  respect  one  of  the  most  wretched  of  the 
lands  under  the  rule,  actual  or  nominal,  of  the  Turkish  Sultan. 
The  country  is  now  more  prosperous  than  at  any  previous  period 
of  its  history.  This  high  degree  of  prosperity  has  been  secured 
mainly  through  England's  having  given  Egypt  the  two  things 
declared  necessary  to  its  prosperity,— "justice  and  water." 

The  construction  of  the  great  irrigation  or  storage  dam  across 
the  Nile  at  the  First  Cataract  (at  Assuan)  is  one  of  the  greatest 
engineering  achievements  of  modern  times.  This  enterprise  has 
vastly  increased  the  agricultural  capabilities  of  Egypt. 

III.  THE  EXPANSION  OF  FRANCE 

900.  France  in  Africa.  At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century  France  possessed  only  fragments  of  a  once  promising 
colonial  empire.  When  finally  she  began  to  look  about  her  for 
over-thc-seas  territories  to  make  good  her  losses  in  America  and 
Asia,  it  was  the  North  African  shore  that,  on  account  of  proximity, 
climate,  and  products,  naturally  attracted  her  attention.  This 
region  possesses  great  agricultural  resources.  In  ancient  times  it 
was  one  of  the  richest  grain-tribute-paying  provinces  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Its  climate  is  favorable  for  Latin-European 
settlement. 

'  Egypt  was  at  that  time  nominally  an  hcroclitary  principality  under  the  suzerainty  of 
the  Ottoman  Porte. 

2  The  World  War  hrought  to  an  end  the  nominal  suzerainty  of  the  Ottoman  Porte 
over  Egypt.  Turkey  having  entered  the  war  on  the  side  of  flcrmany  and  her  allies, 
Great  Britain  declared  an  actual  protectorate  over  the  country  (1914). 


§900]  FRANCE  IN  AFRICA  643 

France  began  the  conquest  of  Algeria  as  early  as  1830.  The 
subjugation  of  the  country  was  not  effected  without  much  hard 
fighting  with  the  native  tribes  and  a  great  expenditure  in  men 
and  money.  In  the  year  1881,  assigning  as  a  reason  for  the  step 
the  necessity  of  defending  her  Algerian  frontier  against  the  raids 
of  the  mountain  tribes  of  Tunis  on  the  east,  France  sent  troops 
into  that  country  and  established  a  protectorate  over  it.  This  act 
of  hers  deeply  offended  the  Italians,  who  had  had  their  eye  upon 
this  district,  regarding  it  as  belonging  to  them  by  virtue  of  its 
geographical  position  as  well  as  its  historical  traditions.^ 

In  191 1  France  established  a  protectorate  over  Morocco.  The 
international  dispute,  stirred  up  by  Germany,  which  arose  over 
this  matter  was  one  of  the  antecedents  of  the  World  War.  In  a 
later  chapter,  where  we  shall  speak  of  the  underlying  causes  of 
this  momentous  conflict,  we  shall  give  a  more  detailed  account 
of  this  controversy. 

These  North  African  territories  form  the  most  promising  por- 
tion of  France's  new  colonial  empire.  The  more  sanguine  of  her 
statesmen  entertain  hopes  of  ultiniately  creating  here  a  new  home 
for  the  French  people, — a  sort  of  New  France.  In  any  event  it 
seems  certain  that  all  these  shore  lands,  which  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury were  severed  from  Europe  by  the  Arabian  conquests,  are  now 
again  permanently  reunited  to  that  continent  and  are  henceforth 
virtually  to  constitute  a  part  of  the  European  world. 

Besides  these  lands  in  North  Africa,  France  possesses  a  vast 
domain  in  the  region  of  the  Senegal  and  lays  claim  to  all  the 
Sahara  lying  between  her  colony  of  Senegal  and  Algeria.  She  also 
holds  extensive  territories  just  north  of  the  Congo  Free  State, 
embracing  part  of  central  Sudan,  besides  less  important  patches 

1  Disappointed  in  not  getting  Tunis,  the  Italians  sought  to  secure  a  foothold  on 
the  Red  Sea  coast.  They  seized  here  a  district  and  organized  it  under  the  name  of  the 
Colony  of  Eritrea.  To  the  southeast  thev  also  took  possession  of  a  long  strip  of  coast 
land  (Somaliland).  But  thev  had  hard  luck  almost  from  the  first.  The  coast  is  hot  and 
unhealthful,  and  inland  is  the  kingdom  of  Abyssinia.  Over  this  the  Italians  attempted  to 
establish  a  protectorate;  but  unfortunately  for  them  Abyssinia  does  not  regard  herself 
as  one  of  the  uncivilized  or  moribund  states  over  which  it  is  necessary  for  Europeans 
to  extend  their  protection.  King  Mcnelik  of  that  country  inflicted  upon  the  Italian 
army  a  most  disastrous  defeat  (1896). 


644  THE  EXPANSION  OF  GERMANY  [§  901 

of  territory  in  other  parts  of  the  continent.'    The  great  island  of 
Madagascar  also  forms  a  part  of  the  French-African  empire. 

901.  France  in  Asia.  In  the  year  1862  France  secured  a 
foothold  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cambodia  River  in  Indo-China 
and  then  steadily  enlarged  her  possessions  until  by  the  close  of 
the  nineteenth  century  she  held  in  those  quarters  territories  which 
exceeded  in  extent  the  homeland.  A  chief  aim  of  the  French  in 
this  region  is  to  secure  the  trade  of  southern  China. 

With  these  ample  African  and  Asiatic  territories  France  feels 
in  a  measure  consoled  for  her  losses  in  the  past,  and  dreams  of  a 
brilliant  career  as  one  of  the  great  colonizing  powers  of  Europe. 

IV.  THE  EXPANSION  OF  GERINIANY 

902.  German  Emigrants  lost  to  Germany.  No  country  of 
Europe  during  the  expansion  movement  which  we  are  following 
supplied  a  greater  number  of  emigrants  for  the  settlement  of 
transoceanic  lands  than  Germany.  But  Germany  did  not  until 
late  in  the  nineteenth  century  possess  under  her  own  flag  any 
overseas  territories,  and  consequently,  although  Germany  during 
the  earlier  expansion  period  sent  out  swarms  of  emigrants,  no  true 
Greater  Germany  grew  up  outside  of  Europe.  But  stimulated  by 
the  war  of  1 870-1 871  against  France,  and  the  consolidation  of 
the  German  Empire,  German  statesmen  began  to  dream  of  mak- 
ing Germany  a  world  power.  To  this  end  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  secure  for  Germany  colonies  where  the  German  emigrants 
might  live  under  the  German  flag  and,  instead  of  contributing  to 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  other  states,  should  remain  Germans 
and  constitute  a  part  of  the  German  nation. 

1  The  French  were  anxious  to  extend  their  authority  eastward  to  the  Nile,  and  in 
order  to  secure  a  claim  to  that  region  an  expedition  under  Major  Marchand  made  an 
adventurous  march  throufjh  central  Africa  to  the  Nile  and  raised  the  French  (I.-ir  at 
I'ashoda.  Hut  French  ambition  here  crossed  English  interests.  I'mnce  established  on 
the  L'pper  Nile  would  be  in  a  position  to  menace  the  security  of  Egypt,  while  a  French 
land  route  across  equatorial  Africa,  such  as  the  French  had  in  mind,  would  be  an  obstruc- 
tion to  England's  projected  Cape-to-Cairo  road.  After  some  sharp  diplomatic  exchanges 
between  the  French  and  English  governments  the  French  gave  up  all  claim  to  any  part 
of  the  Nile  valley,  and  the  "  Fashoda  incident,"  as  it  was  called,  was  closed. 


§903]  GERMANY  IN  AFRICA  AND  ASIA  645 

903.  Germany  in  Africa  and  Asia.  Consequently  when  in 
the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  competition  began 
for  African  territory,  Germany  entered  into  the  struggle  with 
great  zeal  and  got  a  considerable  share  of  the  spoils.  In  1884  she 
declared  a  protectorate  over  a  large  region  of  the  southwest  coast 
of  the  continent  just  north  of  the  Orange  River,  and  thus  lying 
partly  in  the  temperate  zone.^  This  colony  was  known  as  German 
Southwest  Africa.  At  about  the  same  time  Germany  established 
two  smaller  protectorates  on  the  west  coast,  near  the  equator.  On 
the  eastern  coast  of  the  continent  she  took  possession  of  a  great 
territory,  twice  as  large  as  Germany  itself,  embracing  a  part  of  the 
celebrated  Lake  District,  a  region  well  adapted  to  European  settle- 
ment.   This  territory  was  named  German  East  Africa. 

In  1897  Germany,  on  the  pretext  of  protecting  German  mis- 
sionaries in  China,  seized  the  port  of  Kiau-chau  and  forced  its 
practical  cession  from  the  Chinese  government.  This  is  a  spot  of 
great  importance  commercially  and  politically.  The  German  gov- 
ernment aimed  to  make  this  colony  a  true  German  settlement  and 
the  outgoing  point  of  German  power  and  influence  in  the  Far  East.- 

Such  was  the  position  of  Germany  in  the  colonial  world  at  the 
opening  of  the  World  War.  How  that  conflict  affected  her  colonial 
aspirations  and  expansion  projects  will  appear  in  a  later  chapter. 

V.  THE  EXPANSION  OF  RUSSIA 

904.  Russian  Expansion  in  Asia.  Russia  has  large  and 
numerous  inland  lakes  and  seas  and  vast  rivers,  but  she  lacks 
seaboard.  Her  efforts  to  reach  the  sea  in  different  directions  are,  as 
we  have  learned,  the  key  to  much  of  her  history.    It  is  this  which 

1  In  1904  the  German  government  was  forced  to  face  a  serious  revolt  of  some  of  the 
native  tribes  of  the  protectorate,  which  was  suppressed  only  after  three  years  of  cruel 
warfare.  The  natives  were  virtually  exterminated.  The  number  of  German  colonists  in 
the  territory  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  19 14  was  about  10,000. 

2  Besides  the  colonial  possessions  we  have  named,  Germany,  before  the  war  of  1914, 
held  a  number  of  islands  and  groups  of  islands  in  the  Pacific.  She  had  also  secured  such 
predominant  industrial  and  political  influence  in  .\sian  Turkey  as  to  make  the  Ottoman 
Empire  almost  a  German  dependency,  a  matter  which  will  best  be  considered  when  we 
come  to  examine  the  causes  and  antecedents  of  the  World  War. 


646  THE  EXPANSION  OF  RUSSIA  [§  905 

has  given  a  special  character  to  Russian  expansion, — which  has 
made  it  a  movement  by  land  instead  of  by  sea,  as  in  the  case  of 
all  the  other  European  states  that  have  had  a  part  in  the  great 
expansion  movement. 

Russia  made  no  material  territorial  gains  in  Europe,  aside 
from  the  acquisition  of  Finland  and  part  of  Prussian  Poland, 
during  the  nineteenth  century,  although,  as  we  have  seen,  she 
fought  in  three  great  wars  for  this  end  and  shattered  into  frag- 
ments the  Turkish  Empire,  which  lay  between  her  and  the  goal 
of  her  ambition, —  Constantinople.  But  in  Asia  the  additions 
which,  during  this  period,  she  made  to  her  empire  were  immense 
in  extent.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  she  had  absorbed  a  great 
part  of  the  Caucasus  region,  encroaching  here  upon  both  Persia 
and  Turkey  in  Asia.  During  the  latter  half  of  the  century  she 
steadily  pushed  forward  her  boundaries  in  central  Asia.  She 
conquered  or  conciliated  the  tribes  of  Turkestan  and  advanced 
her  frontier  in  this  quarter  far  toward  the  south, — close  up 
against  Afghanistan.  In  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  Asia  she 
obtained  from  China,  under  circumstances  which  will  be  explained 
a  little  farther  on,  the  lease  of  Port  Arthur,  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant Asiatic  harbors  on  the  Pacific,  and  occupied  the  large  Chinese 
province  of  Manchuria. 

Thus,  by  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  Russia  in  her 
expansion  had  not  only  subjugated  the  nomadic  or  semi-nomadic 
tribes  of  central  Asia  but  had  also  won  territories  from  the  three 
semi-civilized  or  backward  states  of  the  continent, — Turkey, 
Persia,  and  China, — and  was  crowding  heavily  upon  all  those 
countries. 

905.  The  Trans-Siberian  Railway.  Russia's  most  note- 
worthy undertaking  during  the  nineteenth  century  in  connection 
with  her  Asiatic  empire  was  the  building  of  the  Trans-Siberian 
Railway,  which  unites  Petrograd  with  the  Pacific  ports  of  Vladi- 
vostok and  Port  Arthur  (the  last  since  1905  in  possession  of 
Japan).  The  construction  of  this  road  has  made  easily  accessible 
to  Russian  settlers  the  vast  fertile  regions  of  southern  Siberia,  and, 
before  the  great  European  war  paralyzed  Russian  life,  was  fast 


§906]  GROWTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  647 

making  that  country  a  part  of  the  civilized  world ;  for  though  it 
may  be  true  as  to  the  past  that  "civilization  has  come  riding  on  a 
gun  carriage,"  now  it  comes  riding  on  a  locomotive. 

VI.  THE  EXPANSION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

906.  The  Growth  of  the  United  States  a  Part  of  the  Great 
European  Expansion  Movement.  At  first  view  it  might  seem 
that  the  growth  of  our  own  country  should  not  be  given  a  place 
in  the  present  chapter.  But  the  expansion  of  the  United  States 
is  as  truly  a  part  of  European  expansion  as  is  the  increase  of  the 
English  race  in  Canada,  or  in  Australasia,  or  in  South  Africa. 
The  circumstance  that  the  development  here  has  taken  place  since 
the  severance  of  all  political  ties  binding  this  country  to  the 
motherland  is  wholly  immaterial.  The  Canadian,  Australian, 
and  African  developments  have  also,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  been 
expansion  movements  from  practically  secondary  and  independent 
centers  of  European  settlement. 

Hence  to  complete  our  survey  of  the  movement  which  has  put 
in  possession  or  in  control  of  the  European  peoples  so  much  of 
the  earth,  we  must  note — we  can  simply  note — the  expansion 
during  the  past  century  of  the  great  American  Commonwealth. 

907.  How  the  Territorial  Acquisitions  of  the  United  States 
and  its  Growth  in  Population  have  contributed  to  assure  the 
Predominance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Race  in  Greater  Europe. 
Seven  times  during  the  nineteenth  and  the  early  twentieth  century 
the  United  States  made  material  acquisitions  of  territory.^  These 
gains  were  in  the  main  at  the  expense  of  a  Latin  race, —  the  Span- 
ish. They  have  not  therefore  resulted  in  an  actual  increase  in  the 
possessions  of  the  European  peoples,  but  have  simply  contributed 
to  the  ascendancy,  in  this  new-forming  European  world,  of  a 
people  predominantly  Anglo-Saxon  in  race. 

Of  even  greater  significance  than  the  territorial  expansion  of 
the  United  States  during  the  last  century  is  the  amazing  growth 

1  The  last  minor  acquisition  was  in  11)17,  when  the  I'nitcd  States  secured  by  pur- 
chase the  Danish  West  Indian  islands  —  St.  Croix,  St.  Thomas,  and  St.  John. 


648  CHECK  TO  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  [§908 

of  the  Republic  during  this  period  in  population  and  in  material 
and  intellectual  resources.  At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tur\^  the  white  population  of  the  United  States  was  a  little  over 
four  millions;  by  1920  it  had  risen  to  ninety-four  millions  (esti- 
mated). This  is  the  largest  aggregate  of  human  force  and  intelli- 
gence that  the  world  has  yet  seen.  Even  more  impressive  than 
its  actual  are  its  potential  capabilities.  With  practically  unlimited 
room  for  development,  it  is  impossible  adequately  to  realize  into 
what,  during  the  coming  centuries,  the  American  people  will  grow. 
This  remarkable  growth  of  an  English-speaking  nation  on  the 
soil  of  the  New  World  has  contributed  more  than  anything  else, 
save  the  expansion  of  Great  Britain  into  Greater  Britain,  to  lend 
impressiveness  and  import  to  the  movement  indicated  by  the 
expression,  "European  expansion." 

VII.  CHECK  TO  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  AND  AGGRESSION 
IN  EASTERN  ASIA 

908.  Shall  China  be  partitioned?  Before  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  outward  movement  of  the  European 
peoples,  which  we  have  now  traced  in  broad  outlines,  had  created 
a  great  crisis  in  the  life  of  the  peoples  of  the  Far  East.  It  had 
imperiled  the  independence  of  one  of  the  great  races  of  mankind, 
the  Yellow,  or  Mongolian,  Race,  comprising  perhaps  one  third  of 
the  population  of  the  earth.  It  had  raised  the  question.  Shall 
China  be  partitioned  ?  Shall  the  Mongolian  peoples  of  the  Far 
East  be  dominated  and  their  destinies  shaped  by  the  European 
powers?  An  unexpected  answer  to  these  questions  was  given 
by  Japan. 

909.  The  Awakening  of  Japan.  For  two  and  a  half  centuries 
prior  to  1854  Japan  had  been  a  hermit  nation.  She  jealously  ex- 
cluded foreigners  and  refused  to  enter  into  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  Western  powers.  But  in  the  year  named  Commodore 
Perry  of  the  United  States  secured  from  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment concessions  which  opened  the  country  to  Western  influ- 
ences, under  which  Japan  soon  awoke  to  a  new  life. 


§910]  THE  CHINO-JAPANESE  WAR  649 

In  the  course  of  the  half  century  following  this  change  in 
Japanese  policy,  the  progress  made  by  Japan  on  all  lines,  polit- 
ical, material,  and  intellectual,  was  something  without  a  parallel 
in  history.  She  transformed  her  ancient  feudal  divine-right  gov- 
ernment into  a  constitutional  system  modeled  upon  the  political 
institutions  of  the  West.  She  adopted  almost  entire  the  material 
side  of  the  civilization  of  the  Western  nations  and  eagerly  absorbed 
their  sciences.  But  what  took  place,  it  should  be  carefully  noted, 
was  not  a  Europeanization  of  Japan.  The  new  Japan  was  an 
evolution  of  the  old.  The  Japanese  today  in  their  innermost  life, 
in  their  deepest  instincts,  and  in  their  modes  of  thought  are  still 
an  oriental  people. 

910.  The  Chino-Japanese  War  of  1894.  In  1894  came  the  war 
between  Japan  and  China.  A  chief  cause  of  this  war  was  China's 
claim  to  suzerainty  over  Korea  and  her  efforts  to  secure  control 
of  the  affairs  of  that  country.  Under  the  conditions  of  mod- 
ern warfare,  and  particularly  in  view  of  the  Russian  advance  in 
eastern  Asia,  the  maintenance  of  Korea  as  an  independent  state 
seemed  to  Japan  absolutely  necessary  to  the  security  of  her  island 
empire.  The  situation  is  vividly  pictured  in  these  words  of  a 
Japanese  statesman.  "Any  hostile  power,"  he  says,  "in  occupation 
of  the  peninsula  might  easily  throw  an  army  into  Japan,  for  Korea 
lies  like  a  dagger  ever  pointed  toward  the  very  heart  of  Japan." 

Still  again,  realizing  that  greed  of  territory  would  lead  the  Euro- 
pean powers  sooner  or  later  to  seek  the  partition  of  China  and  the 
political  control  of  the  Mongolian  lands  of  the  Far  East,  Japan 
wished  to  stir  China  from  her  lethargy,  make  herself  China's  ad- 
viser and  leader,  and  thus  get  in  a  position  to  control  the  affairs  of 
eastern  Asia.  In  a  word,  she  was  resolved  to  set  up  a  sort  of 
Monroe  Doctrine  in  her  part  of  the  world,  which  should  close 
Mongolian  lands  against  European  encroachments  and  preserve 
for  Asiatics  what  was  still  left  of  Asia. 

The  war  was  short  and  decisive.  It  w^as  a  fight  between  David 
and  Goliath.  China  with  her  great  inert  mass  was  absolutely  help- 
less in  the  hands  of  her  tiny  antagonist.  With  the  Japanese  army 
in  full  march  upon  Peking,  the  Chinese  government  was  forced  to 


650  CHECK  TO  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  [§911 

sue  for  peace.  China  now  recognized  the  independence  of  Korea, 
and  ceded  to  Japan  Formosa  and  the  extreme  southern  part  of 
Manchuria,  including  Port  Arthur.  But  at  this  juncture  of  affairs 
Russia,  supported  by  France  and  Germany,  jealously  intervened. 
These  powers  forced  Japan  to  accept  a  money  indemnity  in  lieu  of 
territory  on  the  continent.  She  was  permitted,  however,  to  take 
possession  of  the  island  of  Formosa. 

911.  China  in  Process  of  Dismemberment;  the  Boxer  Up- 
rising (i90o).  The  march  of  the  little  Japanese  army  into  the 
heart  of  the  huge  Chinese  Empire  was  in  its  consequences  some- 
thing like  the  famous  march  of  the  Ten  Thousand  Greeks  through 
the  great  Persian  Empire.  It  revealed  the  surprising  weakness  of 
China, — a  fact  known  before  to  all  the  world,  but  never  so  per- 
fectly realized  as  after  the  Japanese  exploit, —  and  marked  her 
out  for  partition.  The  process  of  dismemberment  began  without 
unnecessary  delay.  Germany,  Russia,  England,  and  France  each 
demanded  and  received  from  China  the  cession  or  lease  of  a  port. 
The  press  in  Europe  and  America  began  openly  to  discuss  the 
impending  partition  of  the  Chinese  Empire  and  to  speculate  as 
to  how  the  spoils  would  be  divided. 

Suddenly  the  whole  Western  world  was  startled  by  the  intelli- 
gence that  the  European  legations  at  Peking  were  besieged  by  a 
Chinese  mob  aided  by  imperial  troops.  Then  quickly  followed  a 
report  of  the  massacre  of  all  the  Europeans  in  the  city. 

Strenuous  efforts  were  at  once  made  by  the  different  Western 
nations,  as  well  as  by  Japan,  to  send  an  international  force  to  the 
rescue  of  their  representatives  and  the  missionaries  and  other 
Europeans  with  them,  should  it  chance  that  any  were  still  alive. 
Not  since  the  Crusades  had  so  many  European  nations  joined  in 
a  common  undertaking.  There  were  in  the  relief  army  Russian, 
French,  English,  American,  and  German  troops,  besides  a  strong 
Japanese  contingent.  The  relief  column  fought  its  way  through 
to  Peking  and  forced  the  gates  of  the  capital.  The  worst  had  not 
happened,  and  soon  the  tension  of  the  Western  world,  which  had 
lasted  for  six  weeks,  was  relieved  by  the  glad  news  of  the 
rescue  of  the  beleaguered  little  company  of  Europeans. 


ort  Arthur 

9.6        10 

C.LUi-U-ihMi  --J-J  Scale  or  MUei 


§912] 


RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR 


651 


All  which  it  concerns  us  now  to  notice  is  the  place  which  this 
remarkable  passage  in  Chinese  history  holds  in  the  story  of  Euro- 
pean expansion  which  we  have  been  rehearsing.  The  point  of  view 
to  which  our  study  has  brought  us  discloses  this  at  once :  The 
insurrection  had  at  bottom  for  its 
cause thedetermination of  the  Chinese 
to  set  a  limit  to  the  encroachments 
of  the  Western  races,  to  exclude  all 
foreign  influences,  to  prevent  the  dis- 
memberment of  their  country,  to  pre- 
serve China  for  the  Chinese.  All  the 
various  causes  that  have  been  as- 
signed for  the  uprising  are  included 
in  this  general  underlying  cause. 

912.  The  Russo-Japanese  War 
(1904-1905).  Early  in  the  year  1904 
war  opened  between  Japan  and 
Russia.  Respecting  the  fundamental 
cause  of  this  conflict,  little  need  be 
added  to  what  has  already  been  said 
in  the  preceding  pages.  Soon  after 
Russia  had  forced  Japan  to  give  up 
Port  Arthur  and  the  territory  in  Man- 
churia ceded  to  her  by  the  terms  of 
the  treaty  with  China  after  the  Chino- 
Japanese  W'ar  of  1894  (sect.  910), 
she  herself  secured  from  China  a  lease 
of  the  most  "strategic  portion"  of 
this  same  territory,  and  straightway 
proceeded  to  transform  Port  Arthur 
into    a    great    naval    and    military 

fortress,  which  was  to  be  the  Gibraltar  of  the  East.  INIoreover,  she 
occupied  the  whole  of  the  great  Chinese  province  of  Manchuria. 
Notwithstanding  she  had  given  solemn  pledges  that  the  occupation 
of  this  territory  should  be  only  temporary,  she  not  only  violated 
these  pledges  but  made  it  evident  by  her  acts  that  she  intended. 


FlC.    144.      FlEl.U    MAKSH.A.L 

OvA.MA.  (From  stereograph, 
copyright,  1904,  by  the  H.  C. 
White  Company,  New  York) 


652  CHECK  TO  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  [§913 

besides  making  Manchuria  a  part  of  the  Russian  Empire,  also 
to  seize  Korea.  But  Russian  control  of  this  stretch  of  seaboard 
and  command  of  the  Eastern  seas  meant  that  Japan  would  be 
hemmed  in  by  a  perpetual  blockade  and  her  existence  as  an 
independent  nation  imperiled.  It  would  place  her  destiny  in 
the  hands  of  Russia.  Japan  could  not  accept  this  fate,  and  drew 
the  sword. 

The  sanguinary'  war  was  signalized  by  an  unbroken  series  of 
astonishing  victories  for  the  Japanese  on  land  and  on  sea.  They 
assumed  practical  control  of  Korea,  and  under  Field  Marshal 
Oyama  wrested  from  the  Russian  armies  under  Kuropatkin  the 
southernmost  portion  of  Manchuria.  Port  Arthur,  after  one  of 
the  longest  and  most  memorable  sieges  of  modern  times,  was 
forced  to  capitulate.' 

The  strong  Russian  fleet  in  the  Eastern  waters  at  the  beginning 
of  hostilities  was  virtually  destroyed.  A  second  great  fleet  sent 
out  from  the  Baltic  Sea  was  met  in  the  Korean  Straits  by  the 
Japanese  fleet  under  Admiral  Togo,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
ships  were  sunk  or  captured. - 

Through  the  mediation  of  President  Roosevelt  peace  envoys 
of  Russia  and  Japan  were  now  brought  together  at  Portsmouth, 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  war  was  ended  by  what  is  known 
as  the  peace  of  Portsmouth.-' 

913.  Some  Results  of  the  War;  Establishment  of  the 
Chinese  Republic.  The  war  had  momentous  results.  It  lifted 
Japan  to  the  position  of  a  great  power.  It  set  limits  to  European 
encroachments  in  eastern  Asia,  and  established  the  doctrine  of 

1  Januar)'  ii,  1905.  The  siege  was  conducted  by  General  Nogi  and  Admiral  Togo; 
the  defense  of  the  place  was  made  by  General  Stocssel.  A  little  later  this  same  year 
was  fought  the  great  battle  of  Mukden,  in  which  the  Japanese  were  victors. 

2  In  the  sea  fight  of  Tsushima,  May  27-29,  1905.  The  Russian  fleet  was  commanded 
by  Admiral  Rojestvensky. 

8  The  treaty  was  signed  September  5,  1905.  Among  the  important  articles  of  this 
treaty  were  the  following:  (i)  Permission  to  Japan  to  make  Korea  her  ward  (the  country 
was  annexed  to  the  Japanese  Empire  in  1910) ;  (2)  the  evacuation  of  Manchuria  by  both 
the  f<ussians  and  the  Japanese ;  (3)  the  transfer  to  Japan  by  Russia  of  all  her  rights  at 
Port  Arthur  and  Dalny;  (4)  the  division  of  the  Manchurian  railway  between  Japan 
and  Russia:  (;)  the  cession  by  Russia  to  Japan  of  the  southern  part  of  the  island 
of  Sakhalin. 


§913]    RESULTS  OF  THE  RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR       653 

"Asia  for  the  Asiatics."  It  gave  assurance  that  the  yellow  race 
should  not,  like  the  red  and  the  black  race,  become  subordinate 
to  the  white  race,  but  should,  in  self-determined  and  self- 
directed  activity,  play  an  independent  part  in  the  history  of 
future  times. 

Especially  important  were  the  consequences  of  the  war  for  the 
Chinese  Empire.  The  effect  upon  China  of  Japan's  triumph 
over  the  giant  Russian  Empire  was  electric.  A  national  conscious- 
ness was  awakened,  and  important  educational,  moral,  and  govern- 
mental reforms  were  set  on  foot.  The  old  system  of  education 
was  done  away  with,  and  the  sciences  of  the  West  were  substituted 
for  the  ancient  classics.  Thousands  of  the  Chinese  youth  sought 
the  new  knowledge  in  the  schools  of  Japan,  the  United  States,  and 
Europe.  In  19 12  the  INIanchu  dynasty,  now  weak,  corrupt,  and 
discredited  by  the  circumstances  of  the  Boxer  trouble,  was  over- 
thrown, the  ancient  monarchy  abolished,  and  a  Republic,  molded 
on  that  of  the  United  States,  proclaimed.^ 

Even  more  fateful  was  the  war  in  its  reaction  upon  Europe. 
In  a  way  that  has  already  been  explained  (sect.  883),  it  gave  a 
great  impulse  to  the  Liberal  movement  in  Russia.  "Above  all  it 
[the  Russian  defeat]  increased  the  self-confidence  of  Germany, 
and  inspired  her  rulers  with  the  dangerous  conviction  that  the 
opposing  forces  with  which  they  would  have  to  deal  in  the  ex- 
pected contest  for  the  mastery  of  Europe  could  be  more  easily 
overcome  than  they  had  anticipated.  To  the  Russian  defeat 
must  be  attributed  the  blustering  insolence  of  German  policy 
during  the  next  ten  years,  and  the  boldness  of  the  final  challenge 
in  1914."- 

References.  Works  of  a  general  character  :  Mokkis.  II.  C,  T/if  J/istorv  <'/ 
Colonization,  2  vols,  (has  a  good  bibliography).  Ikhland,  .\.,  Tropical  Coloniza- 
tion. Bryce,  J.,  The  Relations  of  the  Ailvanced  ami  the  Baclcxcani  Races  of  Man- 
kind. Gibbons,  H.  A.,  The  lYe-w  Maf  of  Africa  and  The  Xe^v  Map  of  Asia. 
Mi'iR,  R.,  The  Expansion  of  Europe.  Hayes,  C.  J.  II.,  A  Political  and  Social 
Ilistoiy  of  Modern  Eii7vpe,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  xxvii-xxx. 

1  The  first  president  was  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  (i()i2-U)ir>).  In  1015-11)16  there  wasa  con- 
spiracy to  restore  the  monarchy,  but  the  movement  was  defeated  by  a  revolt  in  several 
of  the  provinces,  2  jMuir,  The  Expansion  of  Europe,  p.  239. 


654  EUROPEAN  EXPANSION  [§913 

For  the  British  Colonial  Empire  :  Seeley,  J.  R.,  The  Expansion  of  England. 
Caldecott,  a.,  Englis/i  Colonization  ami  Empire.  BOURINOT,  J.  G.,  Canada 
under  British  Rule,  lydo-igoo.  Jenks,  E.,  History  of  the  Australasian  Colonics. 
Bryce,  J.,  Impressions  of  South  Africa.  Lavelle,  C.  F.,  and  Payne,  C.  E., 
Imperial  England,  chaps,  vii-xii. 

For  Europe  in  Africa:  Johnston,  II.  IE,  A  History  of  the  Colonisation  of 
Africa.  Stanley,  IE  M.,  Through  the  Dark  Continent,  2  vols.,  and  The  Congo 
and  the  Eounding  of  its  Free  State.  KelTIE,  J.  S.,  The  Partition  of  Africa. 
Milner,  a.,  England  in  Egypt.  Hughes,  T.,  Livingstone.  Hazen,  C.  D., 
Modern  European  History,  chap,  xxviii. 

For  Russia  in  Asia :  Kennan,  G.,  Siberia  and  the  Exile  System,  2  vols. 
Skrine,  F.  IE,  The  Expansion  of  Russia,  iSi^-igoo. 

For  the  Far  East:  Griffis,  W.  E.,  The  Mikadoes  Empire,  2  vols.,  and 
The  fapanese  Nation  in  Evolution.  Asakawa,  The  Russo-fapanese  Conflict. 
Reinsch,  p.  S.,  IVorld  Politics  at  the  End  of  the  A'ineteenth  Century  as 
influenced  by  the   Oriental  Situation. 


CHAPTER  LXXVI 
EVOLUTION  TOWARD  WORLD  FEDERATION 

For  I  dipt  into  the  future,  far  as  human  eye  could  see, 

Saw  the  \'ision  of  the  world,  and  all  the  wonder  that  would  be ; 

Till  the  war-drum  throbb'd  no  longer,  and  the  battle-flags  were  furl'd 
In  the  Parliament  of  man,  the  Federation  of  the  world.  —  Tennyson 

914.  Introductory.  "It  is  a  favorite  maxim  of  mine,"  writes 
Professor  Seeley  in  his  Expansion  of  England,  "that  history, 
while  it  should  be  scientific  in  its  method,  should  pursue  a  prac- 
tical object.  That  is,  it  should  not  merely  gratify  the  reader's 
curiosity  about  the  past  but  modify  his  view  of  the  present  and 
his  forecast  of  the  future.  Now  if  this  maxim  be  sound,  the  his- 
tory of  England  ought  to  end  with  something  that  might  be  called 
a  moral.  Some  large  conclusion  ought  to  arise  out  of  it;  it  ought 
to  exhibit  the  general  tendency  of  English  affairs  in  such  a  way 
as  to  set  us  thinking  about  the  future  and  divining  the  destiny 
which  is  reserved  for  us."  The  inspiring  destiny  for  England 
which  Professor  Seeley  reads  in  her  past  and  present  history  is 
Imperial  Federation, —  that  is,  a  great  federal  union  embracing 
the  motherland,  her  colonies  and  dependencies. 

Professor  Seeley 's  maxim  must  needs  be  applied  to  universal 
history  if  its  study  is  to  issue  in  anything  really  worthy  and 
practical.  We  must  try  to  discover  the  tendency  of  the  historic 
evolution,  to  discern  the  set  of  the  current  of  world  events,  and 
to  divine  the  destiny  reserved  for  the  human  race.  Only  thus 
shall  we  be  able  to  form  practical  ideals  for  humanity  and  to  strive 
intelligently  and  hopefully  for  their  realization. 

915.  The  Movement  toward  World  Unity.  Now,  there  is 
no  tendency  in  universal  history,  broadly  viewed,  more  manifest 
than  the  tendency  toward  world  union.  From  the  first  appearance 
of  man  on  the  earth,  the  trend  of  human  evolution  has  been 

655 


656    FA'OLUTIOX  TOWARD  WORLD  FEDERATION  [S916 

toward  a  united  world,  a  world  organized  for  common  effort  and 
common  achievement.  In  the  beginning,  the  largest  independent 
group  was  the  clan.  Then  came  the  tribe,  a  group  of  clans ; 
and  then,  in  those  regions  where  civilization  made  its  first  gains, 
appeared  the  city-state,  as  we  find  it  in  the  INIesopotamian  lands, 
in  Syria  and  Palestine,  in  Greece  and  Italy,  at  the  dawn  of  the 
historic  age.  For  upwards  of  a  thousand  years  the  city-state  was 
the  ultimate  political  unit  in  the  INIediterranean  lands,  which 
before  the  rise  of  the  Macedonian  power  and  the  great  extension 
of  the  Roman  authority  were  the  seat  of  hundreds  of  these  little 
independent  political  communities.  Then  came  the  great  nation- 
states  of  modern  times,  which  since  the  break-up  of  the  Roman 
Empire  have  been  slowly  created  through  the  unification  of  tribes, 
cities,  and  petty  principalities. 

During  recent  times  a  state  of  an  essentially  new  type  has 
arisen  among  these  nation-states, —  the  federal  state,  of  which  our 
Union,  consisting  of  forty-eight  states,  and  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion are  typical.  Especially  noteworthy  is  it  that  during  the  past 
century  the  British  Empire,  through  the  federalization  of  Canada. 
Australia,  and  British  South  Africa,  and  the  new  relation  that 
England  has  assumed  toward  the  various  elements  of  her  widely 
extended  dominions,  has  lost  the  characteristics  of  an  "Empire" 
and  has  become,  or  is  becoming,  what  may  rightly  be  called  a 
Federal  Commonwealth.  The  significant  thing  about  this  federal 
movement  is  that  the  logical  issue  of  national  federalism  is  inter- 
national federalism.  The  United  States  of  America  foreshadows 
the  United  Nations  of  the  World. 

916.  Preparations  in  Different  Domains  for  a  Universal 
League  of  Nations.  In  truth,  during  the  century  preceding  the 
World  War,  in  different  realms  the  required  conditions  for  a 
federation  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  had  been  largely  created 
by  humanity's  advance  and  achievements.  In  the  political  realm 
all  that  the  age-spirit  had  accomplished  would  seem  to  have  had  for 
its  ultimate  aim  the  preparing  of  the  way  for  international  feder- 
ation. More  than  a  century  ago  Immanucl  Kant,  in  his  essay  on 
Perpetual  Peace,  affirmed  that  a  prerequisite  for  the  federation 


§916]       PREREQUISITES  OF  A  WORLD  LEAGUE        657 

of  the  world  was  the  establishment  by  all  the  nations  of  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government.  If  we  recall  what  the  union  of  the 
autocratic  governments  of  Europe  in  the  Holy  Alliance  meant 
(sect.  814),  we  shall  understand  Kant.  A  world  union  of  des- 
potic governments  would  be  the  tomb  of  liberty,  individual  and 
national, — a  world-wide  autocratic   despotism. 

When  Kant  wrote  his  plea  for  peace,  autocratic  government 
prevailed  almost  everywhere  in  Europe.  We  have  seen  how  during 
the  century  following  the  Congress  of  Vienna  the  democratization 
of  governments  not  only  on  that  continent  but  almost  everywhere 
went  on  apace,  bringing  the  management  of  public  affairs  more 
or  less  completely  into  the  hands  of  the  people.  Thus,  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  World  War  the  first  required  condition  of  a  uni- 
versal league  had  been  largely  met  in  the  case  of  a  great  part  of 
the  nations  and  communities  of  the  civilized  world. 

A  second  significant  preparation,  during  the  period  under  review, 
for  world  organization  was  the  federation  movement,  of  which 
we  spoke  in  the  last  section,  for  federalism  supplies  the  principle 
which  may  be  applied  to  international  organization  without  en- 
dangering the  principle  of  home  rule  and  legitimate  national 
sovereignty,  since  it  deprives  the  uniting  states,  as  exemplified  in 
our  Union,  of  nothing  save  that  lawless  freedom  which  they  have 
used  to  do  one  another  hurt  and  harm. 

While  the  basis  of  a  universal  federation  was  thus  being  laid 
in  the  political  domain  through  the  incoming  of  democracy  and 
federalism  there  was  going  on  in  the  moral  world  an  even  more 
important  preparation  for  world  union.  There  was  growing  up 
what  has  been  called  the  international  mind;  men  were  begin- 
ning to  think  in  world  terms.  There  was,  further,  a  deepening 
and  strengthening,  not  universally,  as  we  shall  learn,  but  gen- 
erally and  in  the  world  at  large,  of  the  sentiment  of  human 
kinship,  of  international  justice  and  solidarity.  There  was  devel- 
oping, too,  a  new  international  conscience,  a  conscience  which 
affirms  that  the  principles  of  morality  are  the  same  for  nations  as 
for  individuals.  In  this  moral  movement  there  was  the  promise 
and  guarantee  of  a  new  world  order. 


658    EVOLUTION  TOWARD  WORLD  FEDERATION  L?5  91 7 

At  the  same  time  that  these  movements,  so  significant  for  world 
unity,  were  going  on  in  the  poh'tical  and  moral  realms,  in  the  physi- 
cal domain  wonderful  discoveries  and  inventions, —  the  steam 
railway,  the  steamship,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  wireless  teleg- 
raphy, the  airship,  and  a  hundred  others, —  through  the  practical 
annihilation  of  time  and  space,  were  drawing  the  once  isolated 
nations  close  together,  and  thus  were  making  not  only  possible  but 
increasingly  necessary  and  inevitable  international  organization. 

917.  The  First  Hague  Conference  (1899).  Even  prior  to  the 
World  War  much  had  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  machinery  for  a  world  league  of  states.  Just  as  the 
nineteenth  century  was  closing  Tsar  Nicholas  II  surprised  the 
world  by  proposing  to  all  the  governments  having  representatives 
at  the  Russian  court  the  meeting  of  a  conference  "to  consider 
means  of  insuring  the  general  peace  of  the  world  and  of  putting  a 
limit  to  the  progressive  increase  of  armaments  which  weigh  upon 
all  nations." 

All  the  governments  addressed,  twenty-six  in  number,  accepted 
the  proposal  and  on  the  i8th  of  May,  1899,  the  Convention  met 
in  the  famous  "  House  in  the  Woods  "  at  The  Hague,  in  the  Nether- 
lands. Owing  to  the  opposition  of  Germany  any  action  looking 
toward  the  general  limitation  of  armaments  was  prevented.  But 
the  Convention  did  succeed  in  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
International  Court  of  Arbitration  to  which  all  nations  might  have 
recourse  for  the  settlement  of  interstate  disjiutes.^ 

918.  The  Second  Hague  Conference  (1907).  A  second  inter- 
national conference  met  at  The  Hague  in  1907.  Forty-four  of 
the  fifty  and  more  sovereign  and  independent  nations  of  the  world 
were  represented.  One  of  the  important  achievements  of  the  con- 
ference was  the  adoption  of  a  proposal  made  by  the  delegates  of 
the  United  States  for  the  establishment  of  an  International  Court 
of  Arbitral  Justice,  as  a  genuine  court  of  law  with  permanent 

1  Andrew  Carnegie,  recognizing  the  importance  of  the  work  of  the  Convention, 
made  a  gift  of  Si, 500,000  for  the  erection  at  The  Hague  of  a  permanent  home  for  the 
Court.  The  imposing  structure  is  known  as  the  "Temple  of  I'cacc."  Prior  to  1914  a 
number  of  international  disputes  which  might  have  led  to  war  were  adjusted  by  the 
Court. 


§918J  THE  SECOND  HAGUE  CONFERENCE  659 

judges,  to  stand  by  the  side  of  the  Court  of  Arbitration  created 
by  the  P^irst  Hague  Conference.  The  jurisdiction  and  rules  of 
procedure  of  the  court  were  agreed  upon,  but  unfortunately  no 
agreement  as  to  the  number  and  mode  of  selection  of  the  judges 
could  be  reached.  However,  a  long  step  had  been  taken  in  the 
judicial  organization  of  the  world.  Had  the  court  been  fully 
constituted  and  the  submission  to  it  of  international  disputes  been 
made  obligatory, —  again  it  was  the  stubborn  opposition  of  Ger- 
many that  thwarted  every  effort  to  this  end, —  it  is  possible  that 
the  great  tragedy  which  overwhelmed  Europe  in  19 14  would  have 
been  averted. 

The  action  of  the  conference  respecting  the  periodic  meeting 
of  representatives  of  the  nations  was  as  follows:  ''The  conference 
recommends  to  the  powers  the  reunion  of  a  third  peace  conference, 
which  shall  take  place  within  a  period  analogous  to  that  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  preceding  conference,  at  a  date  fixed  by  common 
agreement  among  the  powers."  A  true  world  legislature  was  in 
process  of  formation. 

Seven  years  after  the  close  of  the  sessions  of  the  Second  Hague 
Convention  the  evolutionary  movement  toward  world  organi- 
zation was,  in  a  way  that  could  hardly  have  been  foreseen, — 
through  the  agency  of  the  most  titanic  and  devastating  war  in 
human  annals, — given  a  great  impulse,  and  thereby  the  goal  of  a 
federated  world  brought  measurably  nearer.  This  amazing  and 
dramatic  passage  in  universal  history  we  shall  briefly  summarize 
in  the  next  chapter. 

References.  Fiske,  J.,  American  Political  Ideas,  lect.  iii,  "  Manifest  Destiny." 
Marburg,  T.,  League  of  A'aiious.  Holls,  F.  W.,  The  Peace  Conference  at  The 
Hague  (a  record  of  the  Conference  of  1899).  White,  A.  D.,  The  First  Hague 
Conference.  IIui.i,,  W.  I.,  The  Too  Hague  Conferences.  Choate,  J.  H.,  The 
Two  Hague  Conferences.  ScoTT,  J.  B.  (Ed.),  American  Addresses  at  the  Second 
Hague  Peace  Conference.  Bridgman,  R.  I,.,  World  Organization  and  The  First 
Book  of  World  Law.  Minor,  R.  C,  A  Republic  of  A^ations.  Lawrence,  T.  J., 
The  Society  of  Auctions.   Pollock,  F.,  The  League  of  A\itions, 


CHAPTER  LXXVII 

THE  WORLD  WAR 

(1914-1918) 

I.  CAUSES  OF  THE  WAR  AND  TRAIN  OF  PRECEDING 
EVENTS 

919.  The  War's  Place  in  History.  In  the  midsummer  of  19 14 
—  henceforth  one  of  the  memorable  dates  of  history  —  there  broke 
out  in  Europe  a  war  which  at  once  involved  five  of  the  great 
powers  of  that  continent  and  ultimately  almost  the  whole  of  the 
civilized  world.  It  will  help  us  to  realize  the  significance  of  this 
stupendous  conflict  and  to  assign  it  its  true  place  in  universal 
history  if  we  first  note  carefully  its  relation  to  the  tendencies 
and  world-wide  movements  which  we  have  traced  in  the  fore- 
going pages. 

The  episodes  of  this  great  war  will  appear  in  their  right  per- 
spective and  its  place  in  history  will  be  revealed  only  when  it  is 
viewed  as  the  last  act  in  the  long  drama  of  what  we  have  called 
the  Political  Revolution,  of  which  the  outstanding  fact  before 
this  upheaval  of  19 14  was  the  French  Revolution  of  1789. 

As  we  have  seen,  two  of  the  fundamental  principles  proclaimed 
by  the  Revolution  were  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  or 
government  by  the  people,  and  the  principle  of  nationality,  or  the 
right  of  ever\'  nation  to  be  master  of  its  own  destiny  (sect.  811). 
Now,  these  basic  principles  of  the  Revolution  were  the  essential 
principles  for  which  the  nations  fighting  against  Germany  and 
her  allies  in  the  World  War  contended.  This  determines  the  place 
in  history  of  the  great  conflict.  It  was  the  culmination  of  that 
dual  democratic  and  nationalistic  movement  which  has  given  chief 
significance  to  the  later  periods  of  history.  This  place  in  the  his- 
torical evolution  which  we  assign  the  war  will  be  seen  to  be  its 

660 


§920]  DIVINE-RIGHT  KINGSHIP  66 1 

real  place  if  we  look  more  closely,  as  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
do,  at  the  main  causes  and  vital  issues  of  the  great  struggle. 

920.  Divine-Right  Kingship  again  and  the  Democratic 
Movement.  During  the  nineteenth  century  the  revolutionary 
idea  of  government  by  the  people  made  conquest,  as  we  have 
learned,  of  a  great  part  of  the  world.  Unhappily  there  were  in 
central  Europe  two  states,  Prussia  and  Austria,  which  repudiated 
the  liberal  principles  of  the  Revolution  and,  under  the  mask  of 
parliamentary  forms,  remained  the  upholders  of  the  old  dis- 
credited regime  of  autocratic  government.  Of  these  two  states 
Prussia  alone,  as  the  dominant  power,  need  be  noticed  by  us  here. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  we  saw  how  the  royal  Prussian  House 
of  Hohenzollern  was  raised  by  Prince  Bismarck,  through  a  policy 
of  "  blood  and  iron,"  first  to  the  headship  of  Germany  and  then 
to  the  imperial  dignity.  We  also  noticed  the  accession  of  the 
young  Emperor  William  II,  the  third  of  the  Hohenzollerns  to 
wear  the  imperial  crown.  The  following  utterances  reveal  the 
spirit  and  temper  of  his  government :  "  I  alone  am  master  here ; 
who  opposes  me  I  shall  crush"  (a  sentiment  expressed  by  the 
young  Emperor  at  the  time  he  "dropped  his  pilot,"  Prince  Bis- 
marck). "We  Hohenzollerns  take  our  crown  from  God  alone, 
and  to  God  alone  we  are  responsible  in  the  fulfillment  of  duty."^ 
"The  spirit  of  the  Lord  has  descended  upon  me  because  I  am  the 
Emperor  of  the  Germans.  I  am  the  instrument  of  the  Almighty, 
his  sword,  his  agent.  Woe  and  death  to  all  those  who  oppose 
my  will."- 

Now,  this  is  exactly  the  language  of  the  divine-right  Stuarts  of 
England  and  the  pre-revolutionary  Bourbons  of  France,'  whose 
arrogant  assumptions  and  unbearable  tyranny  did  so  much  to 
provoke  the  English  and  the  French  Revolution.  The  ideal  of 
government,  the  mode  of  thinking,  shown  by  these  declarations 

1  This  was  not  merely  F.mpcror  William's  personal  interpretation  of  the  German  Con- 
stitution. The  eminent  German  historian  Eduard  Meyer  had  said,  "The  power  of  Ger- 
many's monarchs  must  be  unlimited,  and  they  cannot  therefore  be  responsible  to  man 
but  to  (Jod  alone." 

2  Proclamation  by  the  l-'mperor  to  the  army  of  the  East  at  the  beginning  of  the 
World  War.  3  cf.  sects.  650,  665,  669. 


662  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  921 

was  one  of  the  deeper  causes  of  the  World  War — for  civiHzation 
cannot  exist  half  autocratic  and  half  democratic — and  was  what 
made  it  possible  for  President  Wilson,  when,  in  the  third  year  of 
the  unprecedented  conflict,  the  United  States  entered  the  war, 
to  define  it  as  fundamentally  a  struggle  between  democracy  and 
autocracy  and  to  declare  our  aim  and  purpose  in  entering  the 
war  to  be  "to  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy."^ 

921.  German  Imperialism  and  the  Nationalist  Movement. 
It  was  not  only  the  spirit  of  democracy  but  also  the  spirit  of 
nationalism  that  was  at  work  in  the  world  at  large  during  the 
hundred  years  and  more  preceding  the  World  War.  This  period 
witnessed  the  rise  and  establishment  of  many  nation-states,  large 
and  small, —  Greece,  Rumania,  Serbia,  Bulgaria,  Italy,  and  Ger- 
many. But  while  the  world,  broadly  viewed,  was  being  recon- 
structed in  accordance  with  this  great  principle  of  nationalism  and 
was  advancing  toward  true  democratic  internationalism,  toward 
a  world-wide  federation  of  free  and  equal  nations,  the  new  Ger- 
many, under  Prussian  influence  and  dominance,  was  relapsing 
into  archaic  imperialism  and  scheming  for  world  dominion.  "I 
hope  it  will  be  granted  to  our  German  Fatherland,"  these  are  the 
words  of  Emperor  William  II,  "to  become  in  the  future  as  closely 
united,  as  powerful,  and  as  authoritative  as  was  once  the  Roman 
world-empire." 

This  dream  of  world  domination,  military,  political,  and  indus- 
trial, was  not  the  dream  of  the  Hohenzollern  Emperor  alone  ;  it 
was  the  dream  of  an  influential  party  in  Germany  made  up  of 
militarists,  Junkers,  professors,  publicists,  and  industrial  magnates, 
known  as  Pan-Germanists.-  There  were  in  this  group  those  who 
openly  urged  that  Germany  should  gain  this  position  of  dominance 
through  a  deliberately  provoked  European  war,  specific  aims  of 

1  That  this  was  the  real  character  of  the  war  was  at  first  obscured  by  the  fact  that 
autocratic  Russia  was  an  ally  of  the  liberal  governments  of  western  Europe ;  but  when, 
in  1917,  the  Romanoff  dynasty  was  overthrown  and  Russia  proclaimed  a  republic,  though 
the  democratic  republic  was  short-lived,  the  real  issues  involved  bec^ame  clear. 

2  A  prominent  representative  of  this  circle  was  the  militarist,  General  Friedrich 
von  Bernhardi,  whose  work  entitled  Germany  aiul  the  Next  War,  published  in  191  !> 
had  a  great  influence  in  arousing  an  aggressive  war  spirit  in  Germany. 


§922]  GERMAN  IMPERIALISM  663 

which  should  be  the  destruction  of  France  as  a  great  power,  the 
break-up  of  the  British  Empire,  and  the  acquisition  by  Germany 
of  coveted  districts  and  colonies  of  the  subjected  nations. 

That  the  war  was  a  supreme  struggle  between  militaristic  im- 
perialism and  nationalism  was  not  at  first  clearly  perceived  by 
those  remote  from  its  arena.  But  as  the  war  progressed,  the  real 
issues  involved  were  more  and  more  clearly  revealed,  so  that  when, 
finally,  the  United  States  entered  the  war  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies,  President  Wilson  could  declare  a  chief  object  of  the  war 
to  be  "to  deliver  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  from  the  menace 
and  the  actual  power  of  a  vast  military  establishment  controlled 
by  an  irresponsible  government  which,  having  secretly  planned  to 
dominate  the  world,  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  plan  without 
regard  either  to  the  sacred  obligations  of  treaty  or  the  long- 
established  practices  and  long-cherished  principles  of  international 
action  and  honor."  ^ 

In  a  word,  the  war  was  a  tremendous  conflict  in  which  the  free 
peoples  of  the  world  fought  to  prevent  the  setting  up  of  a  revived 
Roman  Empire  that  threatened  to  become,  like  Napoleon's  em- 
pire, the  tomb  of  the  nations.  So  here  again,  in  its  relation  to 
nationalism,  is  disclosed  the  relation  of  the  World  War  to  the 
Political  Revolution. 

922.  Some  German  Pre-War  Doctrines.  But  the  war  was 
something  more  than  a  conflict  between  autocracy  and  democ- 
racy, something  more  than  a  conflict  between  imperialism  and 
nationalism.  It  was,  further,  a  conflict  of  ideals,  of  irreconcilable 
philosophies  of  life  and  history,  in  which  were  imperiled  the  moral 
gains  of  centuries  of  human  progress.  This  statement  calls  for 
an  examination  of  some  German  pre-war  ideas  and  teachings. 

We  have  seen  how  profound  an  influence  philosophic  ideas 
exerted  upon  the  inception  and  the  course  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution (sect.  739).  Even  more  determinative  in  precipitating  and 
giving  character  to  the  World  War  were  certain  ideas  and  doc- 
trines inculcated  by  pre-war  German  militarists,  publicists,  and 
leaders  in  German  thought.  Among  these  ideas  was  the  conception 

1  Reply  to  the  Pope's  I'cace  Proposals,  August  27,  1917. 


664  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  922 

that  the  German  people  are  a  superior  race  ordained  to  world 
dominion.  During  the  decades  following  the  Franco-Prussian  War 
of  1870-1871  this  notion  became  a  fixed  element  in  the  stock  of 
ideas  of  an  influential  section  of  the  German  people.  Here  are 
some  utterances  of  Emperor  William  II:  "We  are  the  chosen 
people";  "God  created  us  that  we  might  civilize  the  world"; 
"We  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  And  thus  speaks  Rudolf  Eucken, 
distinguished  professor  of  philosophy  at  Jena:  "We  have  the 
right  to  say  that  we  form  the  soul  of  humanity,  and  that  the 
destruction  of  the  German  nature  would  rob  the  world  of  its 
deepest  meaning."  With  like  assurance  Ludwig  Woltmann,  a  dis- 
tinguished German  scientist,  declares,  "The  Teutons  are  the 
aristocracy  of  humanity  ;  .  .  .  the  Teutonic  race  is  called  to  circle 
the  earth  with  its  rule." 

These  utterances  are  significant  because  they  were  common- 
places, that  is,  merely  typical  expressions  of  ideas  and  sentiments 
that  formed  a  characteristic  element  of  a  considerable  body  of 
German  thought  two  or  three  decades  preceding  the  outbreak  of 
the  World  War. 

What  made  this  notion  of  German  superiority  in  race  and 
culture  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  world  was  that  many  of 
those  entertaining  this  idea  conceived  it  to  be  the  mission  of  the 
German  people  to  spread  the  superior  German  civilization  over 
the  earth  by  force  of  arms  if  necessary,  and  thus  to  make  Ger- 
many the  "mother  country  of  the  future  civilization  of  the  world." 

Another  dangerous  German  teaching  was  that  war  is  a  neces- 
sary and  divinely  ordained  factor  in  human  history,  and  a  legiti- 
mate means  of  national  aggrandizement.  "War,"  said  the  militarist, 
Friedrich  von  Bernhardi,  "  is  not  only  a  biological  law  but  a  moral 
obligation,  and  as  such  an  indispensable  factor  in  civilization." 
"War,"  said  Marshal  von  INIoltke,  "is  an  element  of  the  order 
of  the  world  established  by  God.  .  ,  .  Without  war  the  world 
would  stagnate  and  lose  itself  in  materialism."  It  was  this  phi- 
losophy of  war  which,  blinding  the  German  people  to  the  insanity 
and  criminality  of  aggressive  war,  had  much  to  do  in  letting  loose 
upon  Europe  the  immeasurable  calamity  of  the  World  War. 


§923]  THE  BERLIN-BAGDAD  RAILWAY  665 

Still  another  evil-breeding  doctrine  taught  by  many  German 
pre-war  philosophers  was  that  the  state  in  its  relation  to  other 
states  is  not  bound  by  the  ordinary  rules  of  morality,  and  that 
war  may  be  waged  without  regard  to  treaties  or  international  law, 
without  sentiment,  pity,  or  mercy.  Translated  into  practice  in  the 
World  War  by  the  German  militarists,  this  monstrous  doctrine 
that  war  may  be  waged  without  regard  to  the  restraints  of  law, 
humanity,  or  conscience  produced  that  German  policy  of  "  fright- 
fulness"'  which  more  than  any  other  one  thing  aroused  and  arrayed 
against  the  Imperial  German  Government  the  greater  part  of  the 
civilized  world  and  made  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  allied  and 
associated  powers  a  fight  not  only  for  democracy  and  nationalism 
but  also  for  the  preservation  of  the  precious  moral  heritage  of 
civilization. 

Having  now  indicated  the  place  in  universal  history  of  the  World 
War,  pointed  out  its  deeper  causes,  and  noticed  some  German 
ideas  and  teachings  which  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  lawless  and 
inhuman  methods  of  the  German  military  authorities  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  war,  we  will  next  trace  the  course  of  events  that,  dur- 
ing the  early  years  of  the  twentieth  century,  marked  the  drift  of 
Europe  towards  the  abyss  of  the  great  catastrophe. 

923.  '' Mittel-Europa''  and  the  Berlin-Bagdad  Railway.  We 
have  spoken  of  the  Pan-Germanists'  dream  of  world  domination. 
For  the  realization  of  this  dream  leading  Pan-Germanists,  long 
before  19 14,  had  formed  a  definite  and  far-seeing  plan.  The  main 
feature  of  the  scheme  was  a  projected  union  or  federation  of  states 
{^^ Mittel-Europa^^)  embracing  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  and 
the  Balkans, —  a  great  wedge  of  lands  dividing  Europe  into  two 
parts  and,  with  the  Turkish  Empire  as  an  Asian  extension,  stretch- 
ing from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf.^ 

An  important  part  of  this  stupendous  project  was  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railway  from  Constantinople  across  Asia  Minor  and 
Mesopotamia  to  Bagdad,  and  thence  to  some  point  on  the  Persian- 
Gulf.  Concessions  for  the  building  of  this  road  were  secured  by 
Germany  from  the  Ottoman  government  just  at  the  opening  of 

1  See  map,  p.  6S6. 


666 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


[§923 


the  twentieth  century.  The  road  was  far  advanced  toward  com- 
pletion by  1 9 14.  The  line  was  known  as  the  Bagdad  Rail- 
way. In  connection  with  lines  in  Europe  the  road  was  to  give 
rail  communication  between  Berlin  and  Bagdad,  and  hence 
the  entire  project  was  known  as   the   Berlin-Bagdad    Railway. 


Asian  Tukkky  axo  the  Bagoao  Railway 


The  location  of  the  Asian  stretch  of  this  Berlin-Bagdad  Rail- 
way should  be  carefully  noted.  It  follows  closely  the  ancient  mili- 
tary and  trade  route  between  the  East  and  the  West.  Control  of 
this  highway  gives  control  of  Asia  Minor,  Mesopotamia,  Syria, 
Palestine,  and  Egypt.  Controlled  by  Germany,  it  menaced  not 
only  British  authority  in  Egypt  and  India  but  also  Russian  in- 
terests in  Persia  and  Asia  Minor.  It  was  this  which  made  the 
German  project  a  matter  of  such  international  concern  and  ren- 
dered it  such  an  influential  factor  in  bringing  on  the  World  War 
and  in  extending  the  operations  of  the  war  into  Mesopotamia 
and  Palestine. 


§924]  GERMANY  BECOMES  A  SEA  POWER  667 

924.  Germany  becomes  a  Sea  Power.  Even  before  the  close 
of  the  nineteenth  century  Germany,  already  the  greatest  military 
power  in  Europe,  turned  her  attention  toward  the  sea.^  The  Kaiser 
declared:  "Our  future  lies  on  the  water.  .  .  .  The  trident  must 
pass  into  our  hands."  A  great  German  merchant  marine  was 
created,  and  a  vast  overseas  trade  developied.  To  protect  her 
extended  commerce  in  the  event  of  war  and  to  further  her  ambi- 
tious world  policy,  Germany  began  the  creation  of  a  navy.  At  the 
opening  of  the  twentieth  century  her  w-ar  fleet  was  second  only  to 
that  of  Great  Britain.  The  British  government  became  alarmed. 
The  insular  security  of  Great  Britain  was  menaced,  for,  with  only 
a  small  army,  she  must  hold  command  of  the  seas  to  be  safe. 
A  keen  competition  between  the  two  nations  in  naval  construction 
began.  In  this  rivalry  there  was  a  distinct  menace  to  world  peace, 
since  Germany  repelled  every  proposal  made  by  Great  Britain 
for  mutual  limitation  of  naval  armaments. 

925.  The  "  Triple  Entente^'  or  Good  Understanding,  between 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Russia.  Germany's  constant  increase 
of  her  navy,  and  her  ambition  for  world  domination  as  disclosed 
by  the  utterances  of  the  German  militarists  and  ruling  classes, 
deepened  the  fears  of  Great  Britain  and  caused  her  to  abandon 
her  policy  of  keeping  aloof,  in  "splendid  isolation,"  from  Conti- 
nental alliances,  and  to  enter  into  what  was  in  effect,  though  not 
in  name,  a  defensive  alliance  with  France  and  Russia.  In  1904 
she  settled  all  her  long-standing  troubles  with  France  and  reached 
a  cordial  understanding  with  her. 

Three  years  later  Great  Britain  effected  with  Russia  a  like 
adjustment  of  all  their  conflicting  interests  in  Persia,  central  Asia, 
and  elsewhere.  Great  Britain  now  gave  up  all  opposition  to 
Russia's  ambition  to  secure  control  of  the  waterways  of  the 
Bosphorus  and  Dardanelles.  It  was  Germany  now,  with  her  am- 
bitious projects  in  Asian  Turkey  and  her  Bagdad  Railway,  that 
seemed  to  menace  British  interests  in  Egypt  and  India.  Hence 
Great  Britain's  earlier  opposition  to  Russian  purposes  was  now 
directed  against  German  plans  of  expansion  eastward. 

1  'J'lie  Kiel  Canal  was  opened  in  1895. 


668  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  926 

These  settlements  and  arrangements  completed  what  is  known 
as  the  Triple  Entente,  or  good  understanding,  between  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Russia/  This  accord  between  these  ancient 
rivals  M'as  a  matter  of  world-wide  importance,  for  though  it  was 
purely  a  measure  of  defense  against  the  German  menace,  Germany 
saw  in  it  only  evidence  of  unfriendly  intentions  and  a  plot  for  her 
"encirclement''  and  destruction. 

The  six  great  powers"  were  now  aligned  in  two  groups,  the 
members  of  each  group  so  bound  together  by  alliances  or  under- 
standings that  a  conflict  arising  between  any  two  states  of  the 
opposing  groups  was  almost  certain  to  bring  on  a  general  Eu- 
ropean war.  This  is  what  helped  to  make  so  extended  and  so 
colossal  the  disaster  that  overwhelmed  Europe  in  1914. 

926.  First  Moroccan  Crisis  (1905).  Simultaneously  with  the 
formation  of  the  Triple  Entente,  Morocco,  a  "decadent"  state, 
became  the  subject  of  a  serious  international  controversy.  The 
collision  of  interests  here  was  between  Germany  on  the  one  hand 
and  France  and  Great  Britain  on  the  other.  France  had  set  her 
heart  on  the  possession  of  this  country  in  order  to  round  out  her 
African  empire.  When,  in  1904,  Great  Britain  and  France  entered 
into  a  mutual  good  understanding,  this  was  one  of  the  things 
settled.  An  agreement  was  reached  whereby  France  gave  Great 
Britain  a  free  hand  in  Egypt  in  return  for  a  free  hand  for  herself 
in  Morocco. 

The  next  year  the  German  Emperor  landed  in  his  yacht,  the 
Hohenzollern,  at  the  Moroccan  port  of  Tangier  and  made  ad- 
dresses to  the  German  traders  there  which  were  meant  for  other 
ears  besides  theirs.  His  utterances  were  notice  to  Great  Britain 
and  France  that  in  all  arrangements  and  conventions  respecting 
the  remaining  free  states  of  the  world  Germany  must  be  consulted. 
This  was  merely  a  reaffirmation  of  a  previous  declaration  that 
nothing  of  importance  in  the  world  at  large  should  be  arranged 
without  the  consent  of  Germany  and  the  German  Emperor. 

1  France  and  Russia  had  drawn  together  and  formed  in  1891  a  defensive  alliance 
known  as  the  Dual  Alliance.  • 

2 'I'he  Triple  Alliance,  it  will  be  recalled,  embraced  Cermany,  Austria-IIungar)',  and 
Italy  (see  sect.  873). 


§  927]  THE  BALKAN  PROBLEM  669 

France, —  though  she  felt  that  Germany's  intervention  was  un- 
justifiable,— being  uncertain  of  the  armed  support  of  Great 
Britain  and  knowing  that  her  other  ally,  Russia,  because  of  the 
defeat  she  had  just  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Japan  (sect.  912)  was 
powerless  to  help  her,  made  humiliating  concessions  to  Germany 
and  agreed  to  the  calling  of  an  international  convention  to  review 
the  whole  matter.  The  outcome  of  this  meeting^  was  favorable 
for  France.  The  representatives  of  the  nations  recognized  her 
special  and  superior  interest  in  Morocco  and  commissioned  her 
to  maintain  order  in  that  country. 

This  Moroccan  affair  is  a  landmark  in  history,  one  of  the 
outstanding  facts  of  the  decade  preceding  the  outbreak  of  the 
World  War.  The  crisis  created  by  Germany's  manner  of  inter- 
vention had,  it  is  true,  been  passed  safely,  but  important  con- 
sequences resulted  from  her  action.  The  good  understanding 
between  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Russia  was  cemented.  It 
now  became  something  like  a  real  alliance.  On  the  other  hand, 
Germany's  prestige  had  received  a  severe  blow,  and  this 
caused  her  hatred  of  Great  Britain,  which  had  taken  the  side 
of  France  in  the  international  convention,  to  become  more  intense 
and  bitter. 

927.  Some  Factors  of  the  Balkan  Problem.  Our  attention  is 
now  directed  to  southeastern  Europe,  where  was  laid  the  train 
which  started  the  frightful  conflagration  of  the  World  War.  The 
situation  here  at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  was  be- 
wildering in  the  variety  of  the  motives  and  interests  of  the 
peoples  and  governments  concerned,  but  it  will  become  in  a  meas- 
ure intelligible  if  we  bear  in  mind  the  following  dominant  facts : 
First,  the  situation  was  one  which  concerned  the  relations  of 
the  several  small  Balkan  states  to  Turkey.  The  Turkish  provinces 
adjoining  these  little  states  contained  more  than  two  million  Chris- 
tian Greeks,  Bulgarians,  and  Serbians  who  longed  for  liberation 
from  Ottoman  oppression  and  for  union  with  their  emancipated 
brethren. 

1  The  Convention  of  Algeciras,  1906.  It  was  suggested  by  President  Theodore 
Roosevelt. 


670  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  927 

Second,  the  situation  was  one  which  concerned  more  or  less 
closely  several  of  the  great  powers.  Russia's  old  ambition  to  con- 
trol the  waterways  leading  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  i^gean  was 
not  only  still  active  but  was  now  more  urgent  than  ever  before, 
because  her  defeat  by  Japan  had  denied  her  a  warm-water  port  on 
the  Pacific.  Great  Britain  no  longer  barred  her  way,  but  Germany 
was  now  interested  in  keeping  these  waterways  out  of  her  hands, 
since  the  Muscovite  seated  on  the  Bosphorus  would  imperil  Ger- 
man interests  in  Asia  ISIinor  and  obstruct  the  great  German  project 
of  a  Berlin-Bagdad  Railway. 

Then  the  ambition  of  the  Slav  state  of  Serbia  to  unite  all  the 
people  of  Serbian  race  in  a  Greater  Serbia,  with  outlets  on  the 
Adriatic  and  the  ^gean,  was  a  menace  to  the  integrity  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  for  the  neighboring  provinces  of  the  dual  monarchy  were 
largely  Serbian  in  race  and  in  sympathies  and  would  inevitably 
gravitate  toward  an  enlarged  and  prosperous  Serbia.  In  a  word, 
Serbia  was  just  such  a  present  danger  to  Austria  in  the  Balkans 
as  Sardinia  had  been  to  her  possessions  in  northern  Italy  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  Just  as  Sardinia  drew  to  herself  the  Italian 
subjects  of  Austria,  so  now  Serbia  threatened  to  draw  to  herself 
all  the  Serbian  subjects  of  Austria-Hungary.  Thus  a  Greater 
Serbia  threatened  the  dismemberment  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
IMonarchy.  IMoreover,  the  establishment  of  a  powerful  Serbian 
state  meant  that  Austria's  coveted  way  to  the  i^^gean  would  be 
barred. 

Besides  the  several  interests  of  Russia,  Germany,  and  Austria- 
Hungary  in  the  Balkan  problem,  still  another  of  the  great  powers, 
Italy,  was  deeply  concerned.  Italy  desired  possession  of  Italia 
irredenta,  "unredeemed  Italy,"  which  embraced  lands  on  her 
northern  Alpine  frontier  and  about  the  head  of  the  Adriatic,  of 
which  the  population  was  largely  Italian,  but  which  were  held  by 
Austria  just  as  once  she  held  Lombardy  and  Venetia.  Further- 
more, Italy  was  watchful  to  see  that,  with  the  Turks  driven  out 
of  Europe,  Austria  should  not  appropriate  Albania  as  her  part  of 
the  booty  and  thus  get  possession  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Adriatic  and  make  of  that  sea  an  Austrian  lake. 


§928]  THE  TURKISH  REVOLUTION  671 

These  mutual  jealousies,  rival  ambitions,  and  conflicting  inter- 
ests of  the  great  powers  created  the  Balkan  problem  in  so  far  as 
it  was  an  international  question  concerning  Europe  at  large. 

928.  The  Young  Turks;  the  Turkish  Revolution  (1908). 
The  situation  in  the  Balkans  being  such  as  is  portrayed  in  the 
preceding  section,  a  remarkable  movement  in  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire became  the  prelude  to  events  of  world  import.  In  1908  a 
revolution  inaugurated  by  a  party  calling  themselves  Young  Turks 
broke  out  in  European  Turkey.  Gaining  control  of  the  Balkan 
army,  the  leaders  of  the  party  demanded  and  secured  from  the 
Sultan  Abdul  Hamid  a  constitution  which  created  a  parliament 
and  gave  to  all  the  subjects  of  the  Sultan  equal  civic  rights  and 
complete  religious  liberty.  The  news  of  the  granting  of  a  consti- 
tution was  received  by  the  subjects  of  the  Sultan  first  with  utter 
incredulity,  and  then,  when  the  news  was  confirmed,  with  un- 
paralleled demonstrations  of  joy.  The  world  looked  on  with 
amazed  and  sympathetic  interest. 

Unfortunately  there  was  a  lack  of  capable  leaders  in  the  party 
of  reform.  The  promise  of  equal  rights  to  all  was  not  kept.  The 
Young  Turks  could  not  give  up  their  position  as  the  dominant  and 
privileged  race  of  the  empire.  They  set  about  the  forcible  "  Turki- 
fication"  of  all  the  non-Turkish  peoples  —  the  Greeks,  the  Arme- 
nians, the  Albanians,  the  Bulgarians,  and  the  Arabs — of  the 
Ottoman  dominions.  INIeanwhile  the  treacherous  Abdul  Hamid 
broke  faith  with  the  revolutionists  and  worked  secretly  to  get  rid 
of  the  constitution  and  to  regain  his  despotic  power.^ 

929.  The  Bosnian  Crisis  (1908).  But  an  even  more  serious 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  success  of  the  reform  movement  than 
these  internal  weaknesses  and  dissensions  was  the  sordid  greed  of 
several  of  the  great  powers,  who  saw  in  a  regenerated  Turkey  the 
ruin  of  all  their  hopes  of  ultimately  inheriting  coveted  portions  of 
the  "sick  man's"  estate.  His  recovery  was  the  very  last  thing 
they  desired.    Austria,  fearing  that  if  the  Young  Turks  succeeded 

1  Abdul  Hamid,  after  having  instituted  atrocious  massacres  of  the  Christians  at 
Adana  and  other  places  in  Asian  Turkey,  was  deposed,  and  his  brother  was  placed  on 
the  throne  (1909). 


672  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  930 

in  establishing  a  reformed  and  strong  government  she  would  lose 
control  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  of  which  Turkish  provinces 
she  had  been  made  administrator  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  annexed 
the  provinces  to  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy  (1908).  This 
was  a  gross  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  Berlin  treaty  and  the 
direct  beginning  of  the  great  tragedy  of  1914. 

Serbia,  who  had  hoped  that  the  provinces,  their  population 
being  largely  Serbian  in  race  and  language,  would  fall  to  her  on 
the  passing  of  the  "  sick  man,"  felt  grievously  injured  by  Austria's 
act,  and  made  vigorous  protest,  but  unavailingly  ;  for  when  Rus- 
sia and  Great  Britain  also  protested,  Emperor  William  took  his 
stand,  in  "shining  armor," ^  by  the  side  of  Austria  and  upheld  her 
in  her  wrongful  procedure.  Neither  Russia  nor  any  other  of  the 
great  powers  being  ready  to  risk  precipitating  a  general  European 
war  through  intervention  by  force  of  arms,  the  provinces  remained 
in  Austria's  hands. 

Another  great  crisis  had  been  passed,  but  not  without  Europe 
being  drawn  nearer  to  the  abyss.  By  a  gesture  of  the  "mailed 
fist"  Emperor  William  had  settled  to  his  own  and  his  ally's  ad- 
vantage a  matter  of  European  concern.  But  there  was  danger 
in  settling  matters  of  that  kind  in  such  a  manner. 

930.  The  Second  Moroccan  Crisis  (1911).  We  have  seen  how 
at  the  time  of  the  first  Moroccan  crisis  France  was  commissioned 
by  the  powers  to  preserve  order  in  the  country.  Unfortunately 
the  native  government  was  inefficient  and  corrupt,  hence  the 
inevitable  happened.  The  country  fell  into  anarchy.  A  French 
army  was  soon  at  the  capital,  Fez,  and  one  of  the  rival  contest- 
ants for  the  crown  placed  himself  under  French  protection.  This 
meant,  of  course,  that  Morocco's  existence  as  an  independent 
state  was  ended. ^ 

At  once  a  German  warship  appeared  at  one  of  the  country's 
ports,^  and  the  German  Emperor  asked  France  what  compensation 
she  would  allow  Germany  in  return  for  a  free  hand  in  Morocco. 
After  long  and  heated  "conversations"  —  Great  Britain  with  her 

1  A  phrase  used  by  the  Kaiser  in  a  later  speech. 

2  The  country  became  a  French  protectorate  in  1912.  8  Agadir,  191 1. 


§931]  THE  BALKAN  WARS  673 

navy  ready  for  action  supporting  France,  since  she  could  not  per- 
mit Germany  to  secure  a  foothold  on  the  shore  opposite  Gibraltar 
—  the  Emperor  consented  to  the  establishment  of  a  protectorate 
over  Morocco  by  France  in  return  for  the  cession  to  Germany 
of  portions  of  the  French  possessions  in  equatorial  Africa. 

Thus,  by  threat  of  war  Germany  had  enlarged  her  African  pos- 
sessions, but  her  relations  with  France  had  been  greatly  embittered, 
for  the  French  denounced  her  action  as  blackmail,  holding  that 
German  interests  in  Morocco  were  not  of  a  nature  to  justify  the 
intervention  of  Germany  in  the  matter. 

931.  The  Balkan  Wars  (1912-1913).  The  example  set  by 
Austria  in  1908  in  the  seizure  of  the  Turkish  provinces  of  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina  was  shortly  followed  by  Italy .^  A  regenerated 
Turkey  threatened  to  make  an  end  of  the  long-cherished  hope  of 
the  Italians  that  Tripoli  and  Cyrenaica  in  North  Africa  would  fall 
to  them  as  ripened  fruit  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire. So  the  Italian  government  resolved  to  seize  at  once  the 
coveted  prize,  justifying  this  action  on  the  ground  that  the  Young 
Turks  were  treating  unfairly  Italian  settlers  and  traders  in  the 
country.  An  expedition  was  launched,  and  the  provinces  were 
seized  and  annexed  to  Italy  (1911). 

The  Austrian  and  Italian  attacks  upon  the  integrity  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire  naturally  excited  the  small  Balkan  states  and 
helped  to  bring  them  to  an  epoch-making  decision.  Bulgaria, 
Serbia,  Montenegro,  and  Greece  formed  an  alliance  (the  Balkan 
League),  the  aim  of  which  was  to  make  an  end  of  the  Turkish 
power  in  Europe.  The  adventure  turned  out  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion. To  the  amazement  of  the  world  the  armies  of  the  little 
states  in  a  few  weeks  drove  the  Turks  from  almost  all  their 
possessions  on  the  European  continent. 

L^nfortunately  the  Balkan  allies,  interfered  with  by  Austria  and 
others  of  the  great  powers  in  the  division  of  the  regained  lands, 

1  Other  states  had  earlier  followed  her  example.  Two  days  after  Austria  had  an- 
nounced her  decision  to  annex  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Bulgaria  proclaimed  her  com- 
plete independence  from  the  suzerainty  of  the  Ottoman  Porte.  Straightvvay  the  island 
of  Crete,  still  under  nominal  Turkish  suzerainty,  declared  for  union  with  Greece  (190S). 
Crete's  union  with  Greece  was  sanctioned  by  the  Treaty  of  London,  191  5. 


674  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  932 

fell  to  fighting  among  themselves  in  what  is  known  as  the  Second 
Balkan  War.  The  only  outcome  of  this  lamentable  struggle  that 
we  need  note  here  is  the  territorial  aggrandizement  of  Slavic 
Serbia.  This  meant,  of  course,  the  enhancement  of  Russian 
influence  in  the  Balkans,  since  racial  sentiment  would  naturally 
cause  Serbia  to  draw  toward  the  great  mother  Slav  state. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  Greater  Serbia  was  a  menace  to  Austria, 
for  a  powerful  Serbia  would  not  only  block  her  way  to  the  .^gean 
but  would  naturally  draw  away  or  make  more  restless  Austria's 
subjects  of  Serbian  race,  thereby  tending  to  bring  about  the  dis- 
integration of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy. 

Furthermore,  an  enlarged  Serbia  under  Russian  influence  and 
protection  was  something  that  the  German  Emperor  could  not 
brook,  since  it  lay  across  the  Berlin-Bagdad  Railway  and  was  a 
menace  to  that  project  and  thus  to  the  whole  Pan-German  scheme 
for  the  commercial  and  j)olitical  domination  of  western  Asia. 

932.  Assassination  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Austria;  "the 
Fateful  Twelve  Days."  It  was  inevitable  that,  in  the  circum- 
stances which  we  have  described,  Austro-Serbian  relations  should 
become  strained  to  a  dangerous  tension.  Events  moved  rapidly. 
While  visiting  the  recently  annexed  province  of  Bosnia,  the  Aus- 
trian crown  prince  —  the  Archduke  Francis  Ferdinand  —  and  his 
wife  were  assassinated.'  Austria,  charging  that  Serbian  officials 
were  accomplices  of  the  assassins,  addressed  to  Serbia  an  ulti- 
matum,- some  of  the  demands  of  which  were  incompatible  with 
the  rights  of  Serbia  as  a  sovereign  and  independent  state.  An 
answer  was  demanded  in  forty-eight  hours.  Serbia  returned  a  con- 
ciliatory reply,  acceding  to  most  of  the  demands  and  offering 
to  submit  either  to  the  International  Tribunal  at  The  Hague  or 
to  the  judgment  of  certain  of  the  great  powers  the  points  to  which 
she  could  not  give  unqualified  assent.  The  reply  was  pronounced 
unacceptable,  and  Austria,  supported  in  her  course  by  Germany, 
declared  war  against  Serbia."* 

The  action  of  Austria  created  alarm  in  every  European  capital. 
Strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Russia 

1  At  .Sarajevo,  June  28,  1914.  2  July  23,  1914.  3  July  28,  1914. 


§932] 


"THE  TWELVE  FATEFUL  DAYS^ 


675 


to  stay  Austria's  hand  and  to  have  the  whole  question  brought 
before  a  conference  of  the  great  powers  not  directly  interested  or 
carried  to  the  Hague  Tribunal,  for  nothing  was  more  certain  than 
that  an  attack  by  Austria  upon  Serbia  would  precipitate  a  gen- 
eral European  war,  because  Russia  would  not  and  could  not  stand 
aloof  and  see  the  little  Serbian  nation  crushed,  since  this  would 
mean  German  supremacy  in 
the  Balkans.  But  Germany, 
rejecting  all  proposals,  insisted 
that  the  matter  concerned 
Austria  and  Serbia  alone  and 
that  there  should  be  no  inter- 
vention by  any  of  the  other 
powers. 

Austria  having  actually  at- 
tacked Serbia,  Russia  ordered 
a  general  mobilization  of  her 
armies.  Germany  thereupon 
sent  an  ultimatum  to  Russia 
demanding  that  she  demobilize 
within  twelve  hours.  Russia 
giving  no  response,  Germany 
declared  war  against  her.^ 

At  the  same  time  Germany 
asked  the  French  Premier, 
Viviani,  whether  in  the  event 
of  a  Russo-German  war  France 

would  remain  neutral.  His  reply  was  that  "  France  would  take  such 
action  as  her  interests  might  require."  Almost  immediately  the 
German  troops  crossed  the  French  frontier.-  On  August  2  Germany 
presented  an  ultimatum  to  Belgium,  declaring  it  to  be  her  purpose 
to  march  across  Belgian  territory  to  attack  France  and  promising, 
if  the  passage  of  the  German  troops  were  not  opposed,  to  guarantee, 
upon  the  conclusion  of  peace,  the  independence  and  integrity  of 
the  Belgian  kingdom,  but  at  the  same  time  warning  the  Belgian 

1  August  1,  1914.  2  Germany  declared  war  on  France  August  3,  igi4. 


©  Harris  &  Hiving 

Fk;.  145.    Albert,   King  of  the 
Belgians.    (From  a  photograph) 


676  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  932 

government  that  if  the  advance  of  the  German  forces  was  impeded 
in  any  way,  the  German  government  would  deal  with  Belgium  as 
an  enemy.  King  Albert,  supported  in  his  heroic  decision  by  his 
ministers,  first  reminding  Germany  that  she  herself  had  solemnly 
promised  to  respect  Belgian  neutrality,  refused  to  consent  to  the 
passage  of  the  German  army,  saying  that  the  Belgian  government 
"by  accepting  the  proposal  would  sacrifice  the  honor  of  the  Bel- 
gian nation  while  at  the  same  time  betraying  its  duties  toward 
Europe."    The  German  troops  at  once  swept  into  Belgium. 

The  violation  of  Belgium  brought  Great  Britain  into  the  war.^ 
On  August  4  the  British  ambassador  at  Berlin  received  instruc- 
tions to  inform  the  Imperial  German  Government  that  if  assur- 
ance was  not  given  by  twelve  o'clock  that  night  that  the  German 
advance  into  Belgium  would  be  stopped,  the  British  government 
would  "  take  all  steps  in  their  power  to  uphold  the  neutrality  of 
Belgium  and  the  observance  of  a  treaty  to  which  Germany  was 
as  much  a  party  as  themselves."  The  German  Chancellor, 
Bethmann-Hollweg,  greatly  agitated,  expressed  pain  and  surprise 
that  the  British  government  should  take  such  a  resolve  "just  for 
a  word,  'neutrality' — just  for  a  scrap  of  paper." 

The  Imperial  German  Government's  reply  to  the  British  ulti- 
matum being  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  German 
armies  should  advance  into  France  "  by  the  quickest  and  easiest 
way,  so  as  to  be  able  to  get  well  ahead  with  their  operations  and 
endeavor  to  strike  some  decisive  blow  as  early  as  possible,"  Great 
Britain  at  once  drew  the  sword. 

Thus,  by  the  close  of  August  4,  only  twelve  days  after  Austria's 
ultimatum  to  Serbia  had  become  known  to  the  English,  French, 
and  Russian  governments,  five  of  the  great  powers  were  at  war. 
The  curtain  had  lifted  on  "  the  most  tragic  drama  of  human 
history." 

1  Though  the  invasion  of  Itclgium  by  the  (Germans  actually  brought  (Ircat  Hritain 
into  the  war,  it  is  certain  that  she  would,  as  the  ally  of  France,  have  taken  part  in  it  even 
if  the  neutrality  of  Ik-lgium  had  not  been  violated.  She  could  not  have  stood  aside 
while  tiermany  was  striking  down  France,  robbing  her  of  her  colonics,  and  making  of 
her  a  vassal  state. 


§933] 


THE  VIOLATION  OF  BELGIUM 


677 


II.  OUTSTANDING  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR 

933.  The  Violation  of  Belgium.    The  German  plan  of  cam- 
paign was  simple.    With  a  swift  blow  France  was  to  be  struck 
down  before  her  allies  could  come  to  her  aid ;  then  Russia,  which 
Austria  was  to  hold  in  check  while  the   German  armies  were 
overrunning   France,  was   to   be  put   out   of   the   war.    But   the 
French   frontier   toward   Ger- 
many,   from    Switzerland    to 
Luxemburg,  was  strongly  for- 
tified,   and    the    reduction    of 
these  defenses  would  delay  for 
at  least  several  weeks  the  ad- 
vance of  the  German  troops 
into   France ;    hence  the  pro- 
posal  made   by   Germany   to 
the  Belgian  government  for  an 
unobstructed   passage   of    the 
German  armies  through  Bel- 
gium.    We    have    seen    how, 
upon  the  indignant  rejection 
of  this  dishonorable  proposal, 
the  German  troops  were  f!ung 
across  the  frontier  in  utter  dis- 
regard   of    treaty    obligations 
and  of  international  law.  The 
crime  was  confessed  in  self- 
indicting  words  by  the  German  Chancellor,  Bethmann-Hollweg. 
In  announcing  to  the  Reichstag  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  he  said  : 
"  Gentlemen,  we  are  now  in  a  state  of  necessity,  and  necessity 
knows  no  law.    Our  troops  have  occupied  Luxemburg  and  per- 
haps are  already  on  Belgian  soil.    Gentlemen,  that  is  contrary 
to  the  dictates  of  international  law.  .  .  .    The  wrong  —  I  speak 
openly  —  that  we  are  committing  we  will  endeavor  to  make  good 
as  soon  as  our  military  goal  has  been  reached."^ 

1  This  speech  was  made  August  4,  1914. 


©  11. ii 


Fk;.  146.    Cardinal  Mercier  of 
Belgium.    (From  a  photograph) 


678 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


[§  933 


The  first  obstacle  to  the  advance  of  the  German  forces  was  the 
strongly  fortified  city  of  Liege.  In  a  few  days  the  defenses  of  the 
place,  which  had  been  thought  impregnable,  were  pounded  into 
dust  by  the  monstrous  siege  guns  of  the  enemy. 

The  resistance  of  the  Belgians  roused  a  fury  of  rage  in,  the 
Germans,  who  now  began  a  campaign  of  "  frightfulness"  (Schrcck- 

lichkeit),  the  purpose  of 
which  was  to  terrorize  the 
people  and  make  them  sub- 
missive to  the  German  will. 
V'illages  and  cities,  indi- 
vidual citizens  of  which  it 
was  alleged  had  fired  upon 
the  German  soldiers,  were 
sacked  and  burned,  and 
hundreds  of  noncombat- 
ants — men,  wom.en  and 
children — were  indiscrimi- 
nately slain.  Hostages  were 
shot  for  the  alleged  acts  of 
persons  over  whom  they 
had  no  control.  Priests  were 
killed.  The  famous  univer- 
sity and  library  of  Louvain 
■were  wantonly  destroyed, 
and  a  large  part  of  the  city 
itself  laid  in  ashes.  The 
world  stood  aghast  at  these 
crimes,  for  it  had  been  be- 
lieved that  the  time  was  past  when  the  armies  of  any  civilized 
government  would  commit  such  atrocities,  to  which  there  is  no 
parallel  in  history  since  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

The  brave  resistance  of  the  Belgians  to  the  passage  of  the 
German  armies  had  momentous  consequences.  The  delay,  short 
though  it  was,  that  it  caused  the  Germans  not  only  gave  the 
French  time  to  concentrate  their  forces  and  throw  them  to  the 


I'scd  hy  pcrniissiun  of  tlif  IVupriftnrs  of  Lontlon  rnmli 

Fig.  147.   The  Kaiser.    So  you  see  — 
you've  lost  everything. 
Albert,    King   of  the    Belciians. 
Not  my  soul. 


§934]  "THE  MIRACLE  OF  THE  MARNE"  679 

north  between  the  invaders  and  Paris  but  it  also  gave  England 
time  to  come  to  the  aid  of  her  ally  with  a  small  but  efficient 
force.    It  thus  made  possible  the  great  victory  of  the  Marne. 

934.  "The  Miracle  of  the  Marne"  (September  5-9,  1914). 
Along  the  PYanco-Belgian  frontier  the  German  invaders  were  met 
by  the  French  and  British  armies.  Their  stubborn  resistance  to 
the  German  advance,  however,  was  broken,  and  the  victorious 
Germans  pushed  on  toward  Paris.  The  French  government  fled 
to  Bordeaux.  It  seemed  as  though  the  story  of  1870  were  to  be 
repeated.  But  with  the  enemy  almost  within  sight  of  the  capital, 
the  French  general,  Joffre,  halted  the  retreat  of  his  forces  along 
the  southern  banks  of  the  river  Marne,  and  there,  near  the  region 
where,  more  than  fourteen  hundred  years  before,  the  savage  hordes 
of  Attila  were  turned  back  by  the  Romans,  the  Franks,  and  their 
confederates,^  inflicted  a  memorable  and  disastrous  defeat  upon 
the  invaders.  The  Germans  retreated  to  the  river  Aisne,  nearly 
halfway  to  the  Belgian  frontier,  and  there  intrenched  themselves. 

The  battle  of  the  Marne  is  rightly  given  a  place — perhaps 
it  should  be  the  first  place — among  the  decisive  battles  of 
the  world.  It  saved  not  only  France  but  all  Continental  Europe 
from  German  domination,  for  nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that,  if  France  had  lost  at  the  INIarne,  Russia  would  have  been 
quickly  overrun  by  the  German  armies  and  German  military 
and  political  control  of  the  Continent  would  have  been  firmly 
established. 

935.  The  Struggle  for  the  Channel  Ports.  The  Germans  had 
failed  in  their  plans  to  reach  Paris  and  put  France  out  of  the  war. 
They  now  made  a  supreme  effort  to  reach  the  sea  and  get  control 
of  the  Channel  ports  on  the  shore  opposite  England.  With  these 
ports  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  the  safety  of  England  would,  of 
course,  have  been  imperiled.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  pre- 
vent such  a  calamity.  British,  French,  and  Belgian  forces  were 
quickly  thrown  between  the  Germans  and  the  coveted  prize.  These 
land  forces  were  aided  by  the  British  fleet,  which  patrolled  the 
coast.    In  the  Flanders  region  the  sluices  were  opened  and  wide 

1  See  sect.  1^2, 


68o  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§936 

tracts  of  the  land  flooded  —  an  old  device  for  defense  in  these  low- 
lying  lands.  The  struggle  was  long  and  bitter.  Some  of  the  bloodi- 
est battles  of  the  war  were  fought  here.^  The  British  army,  "a 
contemptible  little  army,"  as  it  was  characterized  by  the  German 
Kaiser,  was  virtually  annihilated  after  deeds  of  valor  which  made 
of  the  epithet  of  scorn  a  badge  of  immortal  honor.-  Though  the 
Germans  reached  the  sea  at  Ostend  and  gained  control  of  a  strip 
of  Belgian  coast  they  were  thwarted  in  reaching  their  main  objec- 
tive—  the  ports  of  Calais  and  Boulogne,  at  the  narrowest  part  of 
the  Channel. 

936.  The  Western  Battle  Front.  After  the  battle  of  the  ISIarne 
and  at  the  end  of  the  struggle  for  the  Channel  ports,  the  Germans, 
still  standing  in  the  main  on  French  and  Belgian  soil,  intrenched 
themselves  along  a  line  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  length,  run- 
ning from  Switzerland  to  the  North  Sea.  Facing  the  German 
trenches  were  drawn  the  trenches  of  the  Allies.  ^  Never  before 
in  history  was  there  such  a  far-flung  battle  line.  Between  the 
opposing  lines  of  ditches,  dugouts,  and  wire  entanglements  ran 
a  strip  of  ground  varying  in  width  from  a  few  hundred  yards 
in  some  places  to  several  miles  in  others,  known  as  "No  Man's 
Land" — a  name  which  suggests  much  of  the  tragedy  of  the 
World  War. 

For  about  a  year  and  a  half  the  French,  aided  by  a  small  num- 
ber of  British  and  Belgian  troops,  held  back  the  German  masses 
along  this  extended  line,  while  a  new  British  army,  numbering  sev- 
eral millions,  was  being  raised,  trained,  and  equipped  ;  and  then 
for  another  like  period  the  Anglo-French-Belgian  forces  manned 
the  trenches  until  the  United  States,  which  early  in  19 17  had 
entered  the  war,  was  mustering,  drilling,  and  transporting  to 
France  a  great  army  of  over  two  million  men. 

During  these  three  years  the  fighting  along  this  western  front 
was  in  the  nature  of  siege  operations.  Many  offensives,  or  drives, 
were  launched  by  both  the  Germans  and  the  Allies  in  efforts  to 

'  The  most  important  were  the  battle  of  the  Vser  and  the  first  battle  of  Ypres. 
2  The  sur\'ivor.s  of  this  expeditionary  army  proudly  accept  the  title  of  "The  Con- 
temptibles." 


§937]  THE  EASTERN  FRONT  68i 

push  back  or  break  through  the  opposing  line,  but  at  the  end  of 
the  three  years  the  lines,  though  in  some  places  they  had  been 
bent  and  pushed  toward  Germany,  in  general  ran  substantially  as 
at  the  beginning  of  the  period. 

The  story  of  this  trench  warfare  on  the  western  front  belongs 
to  the  military  records  of  the  war  and  cannot  be  dwelt  upon  here. 
We  shall  merely,  a  little  later,  preserving  the  chronological  order 
of  our  narrative,  speak  briefly  of  one  of  the  offensives  undertaken 
by  the  Germans  and  mention  another  launched  by  the  British, 
which  were  such  supreme  efforts  as  to  make  them  of  epochal 
importance.^ 

937.  The  Eastern  Front ;  Russian  Victories  and  Reverses 
(1914-1915).  We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  eastern 
front.  Just  at  the  moment  when  the  Germans  were  threatening 
Paris,  the  Russians  came  to  the  aid  of  their  French  ally  by  sending 
two  armies  into  East  Prussia  and  menacing  Berlin.  One  of  the 
invading  armies  was  met  and  almost  annihilated  by  the  German 
general,  Hindenburg.-  The  other  army  then  drew  back  to  the 
frontier. 

This  defeat  of  the  Russians  in  East  Prussia  was  offset  by  their 
victories  over  Austria  in  Galicia.^  Three  great  Austrian  armies 
were  routed  and  three  hundred  thousand  prisoners  taken.  The 
military  power  of  Austria  seemed  on  the  point  of  absolute  col- 
lapse. But  with  the  coming  of  Germany  to  the  rescue  of  her  ally, 
the  tide  was  quickly  turned.  A  great  victory  for  the  Central 
Powers*  saved  Austria  and  crippled  seriously  the  military  power 
of  Russia.  A  wide  strip  of  western  Russia,  including  Poland,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Germans.  As  earlier  in  the  west  so  now 
here  in  the  east  there  resulted  finally  a  deadlock,  and  the  contend- 
ing armies  settled  down  to  trench  warfare. 

1  See  sect.  941  and  p.  6S5,  n.  4. 

2  At  the  battle  of  Tanncnbcrg,  August  ;;,  1014.  Ivulv  the  next  year  in  the  battle  of 
the  Mazurian  Lakes,  East  Prussia,  General  Hindenburg  inflicted  upon  the  Russians  a 
second  decisive  defeat  with  immense  losses  in  killed  and  prisoners. 

■*  I.emberg  (now  Lw6w)  was  taken  by  the  Russians  about  September  1,1014  :  Przemvsl 
fell  into  their  hands  in  early  March,  1915,  with  125,000  prisoners. 

■*  The  battle  of  the  Dunajec,  early  May,  1915,  as  decisive  a  victorv  for  Germany  as  the 
battle  of  the  Marne  was  for  France. 


682  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§938 

Thus  Germany  at  the  end  of  campaigns  covering  about  a  year 
and  a  half  had  failed  as  to  her  main  purpose  both  in  the  west 
and  in  the  east.  Neither  France  nor  Russia,  though  each  had 
received  a  terrible  blow  and  lost  much  territory,  had  been  put 
out  of  the  war. 

938.  The  Sinking  of  the  Lusitania  (May  7,  1915).  On 
February  4,  191 5,  the  German  government  announced  that  every 
merchant  vessel  of  the  Allies  entering  a  designated  zone  around 
the  British  Isles  would  be  destroyed,  "  without  its  being  always 
possible  to  avert  the  dangers  threatening  the  crews  and  passengers." 
This  meant  that  such  vessels  would  be  sunk  without  warning. 

Now,  to  do  the  thing  the  German  government  announced  it  was 
going  to  do  would  be  not  only  to  violate  the  principles  of  humanity 
but  to  disregard  the  law  of  nations,  which  forbids  the  destruction 
of  passenger  or  merchant  ships  under  any  circumstances  before 
the  crews  and  passengers  have  been  put  in  a  place  of  safety. 

Notwithstanding  a  solemn  warning  from  President  Wilson  that 
the  United  States  government  would  hold  the  German  government 
to  a  "  strict  accountability  "  if  such  action  as  it  purposed  to  take 
should  result  in  the  death  of  any  American  citizens,  the  German 
submarines  straightway  proceeded  to  sink  merchant  vessels  with- 
out warning,  and  in  several  instances  destroyed  the  lives  of  Ameri- 
can citizens.  Then  on  INIay  i,  1915,  there  appeared  in  American 
newspapers  an  advertisement  issued  by  the  German  Embassy  in 
Washington,  in  which  all  persons  were  warned  against  taking 
passage  on  the  British  steamship  Lusitania,  which  was  about  to 
sail  from  New  York  for  an  English  port,  it  being  intimated  that 
every  effort  would  be  made  by  German  submarines  to  sink  the 
liner.  No  attention  was  paid  to  the  warning,  as  no  one  believed 
that  any  civilized  government  would  do  the  thing  that  the  Im- 
perial German  Government  threatened  to  do. 

On  the  evening  of  IMay  7,  191 5,  as  the  Lusitania,  with  crew 
and  passengers  numbering  about  two  thousand,  neared  the  Irish 
coast,  she  was  torpedoed  without  warning,  and  more  than  a  thou- 
sand persons,  among  them  many  women  and  little  children,  were 
drowned.     This    awful    crime    created    horror    and    indignation 


§  939]  ITALY  ENTERS  THE  WAR  683 

throughout  the  civilized  world.  The  United  States  demanded  of  the 
German  government  a  disavowal  of  the  act  and  assurance  that 
the  operations  of  its  submarines  would  in  the  future  conform  to 
the  requirements  of  international  law.  But  it  was  only  after  a 
long  delay  and  the  exchange  of  numerous  notes  that  the  German 
government  finally  gave  the  following  pledge:  "Liners  will  not  be 
sunk  by  our  submarines  without  warning  and  without  providing 
for  the  safety  of  the  lives  of  non-combatants,  provided  that  the 
liners  do  not  try  to  escape  or  offer  resistance."^ 

It  was  the  withdrawal  of  this  solemn  pledge  by  the  Imperial 
German  Government  that,  as  we  shall  learn,  was  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  United  States  entering  the  war  early  in  191 7  on 
the  side  of  the  Allies. 

939.  Italy  enters  the  War  (May  23,  1915).  Although  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Triple  Alliance,  Italy  did  not  join  Germany  and  Austria 
in  the  war,  because  she  was  convinced  that  the  war  against  Serbia 
was  an  act  of  aggression  on  the  part  of  Austria,  and  since  the 
alliance  of  which  she  was  a  member  was  merely  a  defensive,  and 
not  an  offensive,  alliance,  she  was  not  bound  to  come  to  the  aid 
of  her  allies. 

In  truth  Italy's  alliance  with  Austria  was  an  altogether  un- 
natural one,  for  Austria  was  the  hereditary  enemy  of  the  Italian 
people.  Instead  of  fighting  for  the  extension  of  Austrian  rule 
and  the  enhancement  of  Austria's  influence  and  power  in  the 
Balkans,  the  Italians  were  rather  minded  to  take  advantage  of 
her  embarrassment  and  fight  for  the  liberation  of  the  still  un- 
redeemed Italian  lands-  {Italia  irredenta).  Negotiations  were 
begun  by  the  Italian  government  with  Austria  for  her  withdrawal 
from  these  districts.  But  no  agreement  could  be  reached,  and  Italy 
entered  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies.  A  new  battle  front 
was  thus  created.     For  the  next  two  years  and  more  this  front 

1  This  pledge  was  given  September  i,  1915. 

2  Italy's  decision  was  influenced  in  part  by  other  motives  than  the  desire  to  complete 
the  work  of  Italian  unity.  Recognizing  the  real  character  of  the  great  struggle  she 
wished  part  in  the  defense  of  liberalism  and  civilization.  Furthermore,  there  was  among 
the  Italians  an  imperialistic  party  who  through  Italy's  participation  in- the  war  hoped  to 
secure  Italian  dominance  in  the  Adriatic  and  the  eastern  Mediterranean. 


684  .   THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  940 

was  the  scene  of  much  hard  mountain  fighting,  in  which  the  Italian 
armies  wrested  from  Austrian  control  much  of  the  coveted  lands. 
Then  came  a  great  disaster,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later,  and  the 
loss  of  all  that  had  been  gained,  and  much  besides. 

940.  The  War  in  the  Southeast  in  1915  ;  Serbia  and  Turkey. 
We  have  noted  how  the  close  of  the  j'ear  1915  saw  Germany's 
main  war  aims  both  in  the  west  and  in  the  east  unattained 
(sect.  937).  In  the  southeast,  however,  by  the  end  of  the  year 
Germany  had  completely  realized  her  plans.  What  she  wanted 
here  was  to  secure  Austro-German  supremacy  in  the  Balkans  and 
to  keep  unobstructed  her  railway  route  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  All 
this  she  achieved  in  a  terrible  drive  against  Serbia  and  through 
aiding  Turkey  in  the  defense  of  the  Dardanelles. 

The  Serbian  situation  at  the  beginning  of  this  offensive  was 
as  follows:  At  the  opening  of  the  war  in  1914  Austria  had  in- 
vaded Serbia  and  taken  the  capital,  Belgrade.  After  severe  fighting 
the  Serbians  had  retaken  their  capital  and  driven  the  Austrians 
from  Serbian  soil.  Germany  then  came  to  the  aid  of  her  ally,  and 
a  strong  Austro-German  army  in  cooperation  with  a  large  Bul- 
garian force  —  Bulgaria  having  joined  the  Central  Powers  — 
fjuickly  overcame  all  Serbian  resistance.'  The  Serbian  army,  in 
one  of  the  most  distressful  retreats  in  history,  lied  southward  over 
the  Albanian  mountains,  amidst  the  snows  of  a  bitter  winter,  and 
the  remnant  who  escaped  capture  or  death  from  exposure  found  a 
refuge  in  the  island  of  Corfu.  Serbia  was  made  a  second  Bel- 
gium. ]\Iontenegro,  which  fought  with  Serbia,  was  involved  in 
Serbia's  ruin. 

There  were  still  other  misfortunes  to  deepen  the  gloom  that 
darkened  for  the  Allies  the  close  of  the  year  1915.  An  attempt 
made  early  in  the  year  by  an  Anglo-Trench  fleet  to  reach  Constan- 
tinople by  forcing  the  Dardanelles'-  had  ended  in  disaster.    This 

'  All  Anglo- I-"rcnch  army  wliich  had  been  Rathcrcd  at  the  Greek  port  of  Saloniki  was 
outmatched  and,  hampered  by  the  fear  of  Greek  treachery  in  its  rear,  was  unable  to 
render  the  Serbians  anv  effective  aid. 

2  Turkey  had  entered  the  war  in  November,  1014,  on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers. 
Iler  action  was  motived,  in  part,  by  fear  of  her  hereditary  enemy,  Russia,  in  the  event 
of  the  triumph  of  the  ,\llics.    The  year  following  her  entrance  into  the  war  witnessed 


§941]  "THEY  SHALL  NOT  PASS"  685 

failure  of  the  fleet  was  followed  by  an  equally  ill-fated  land 
attack/  in  which  Australian  and  New  Zealand  troops  won  special 
distinction.  After  having  suffered  great  privation  and  tragic 
losses,  the  allied  forces  were  withdrawn.- 

941.  Verdun — "They  shall  not  pass."  The  event  of  greatest 
militar}^  importance  in  1916,  the  third  year  of  the  war,  was  the 
German  offensive  — really  a  trench  battle  that  lasted  nearly  a  year 
— against  Verdun,  on  the  west  front.^  Russia  having  been  de- 
feated and  the  German  situation  in  the  Balkans  made  secure, 
Germany  now  turned  to  strike  another  blow  at  France  in  the  hope 
of  breaking  either  the  French  line  or  the  French  spirit  and  thus 
putting  France  out  of  the  war  before  Great  Britain's  new  army 
was  drilled,  ecjuipped,  and  in  the  field. 

The  blow  was  aimed  at  Verdun,  an  ancient  French  fortress. 
The  attack  began  early  in  the  year.  The  stout  watchword  of  the 
French  was,  "  They  shall  not  pass."  The  Germans,  after  the  first 
rush,  made  for  several  months  only  slow  foot-by-foot  advances  ; 
and  then  the  French,  taking  the  offensive,  quickly  drove  them 
from  practically  all  the  ground  which  they  had  occupied.  The 
losses  of  the  Germans  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  are  esti- 
mated to  have  exceeded  a  quarter  of  a  million.  This  French 
victory  was  second  only  to  that  of  the  Marne.'* 

the  massacre  by  the  agents  of  the  Turkish  government  and  fanatical  Moslem  mobs  of 
nearl)'  a  million  Christian  Armenians,  men,  women,  and  children,  in  the  Asian  districts 
of  the  empire.    Retribution  for  this  diabolical  crime  awaited  the  end  of  the  war. 

1  On  the  peninsula  of  Gallipoli. 

2  In  January,  1916. 

•''  The  matter  of  supreme  naval  importance  was  the  battle  of  Jutland,  in  the  North  Sea 
(May  31),  a  fight  between  the  British  and  German  battle  fleets,  "the  greatest  conflict  in 
naval  history"  (Simonds).   The  issue  confirmed  England's  master)'  of  the  sea. 

•1  At  the  same  time  that  the  Germans  launched  their  great  offensive  at  \'erdun  the 
Austrians  made  a  menacing  attack  through  the  Trentino.  To  relieve  the  pressure  on  their 
allies,  Russia  and  Great  Britain  started  offensives.  Russia,  having  recovered  more  quickly 
than  was  thought  possible  from  her  defeat  in  igij,  attacked  Austria  and  took  400,000 
prisoners.  This  forced  the  Austrians  hastily  to  withdraw  their  troops  from  Italy  for  the 
defense  of  their  eastern  frontier.  In  Asia  Minor  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  set  on  foot  a 
campaign  against  the  Turks,  overran  Armenia,  and  captured  the  important  cities  of 
Erzerum  and  Trebizond. 

The  British,  or  rather  Franco- British,  drive  is  known  as  the  first  battle  of  the  -Sommc. 
This  was  one  of  the  great  battles  of  the  war  —  a  trench  battle,  which  lasted  from  July  i  to 
November  30,  1916.   The  enemy's  lines  were  so  shaken  that  the  Germans  were  forced  to 


686 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


[§94^ 


942.  Rumania  enters  the  War  and  is  ruined.  IMidsummer  of 
the  year  191 6  saw  the  fortunes  of  the  Central  Powers  at  their 
lowest  ebb.  It  seemed  as  though  the  ultimate  defeat  of  the  two 
empires  was  certain.  At  this  important  juncture  Rumania  entered 
the  war,^  making  the  tenth  nation  arrayed  against  the  Central 
Powers.    Her  aim  in  throwing  herself  into  the  struggle  was  to 


MITTEL-EUKOPA   AND   TURKISH   AnNE.X 

Territories  occupied  or  virtually  controlled  by  Germany  at  the  beginning  of  1917.    The 
Pan-German  project  of  a  Mittel-Europa  (sect.  923)  is  here  actually  realized 


realize  national  unity  for  the  Rumanian  race  by  the  liberation 
from  the  Austro-Hungarian  yoke  of  the  several  million  Rumanians 
of  Transylvania  and  other  territories. 

Rumania's  action  simply  added  another  to  the  many  tragedies 
of  the  great  war.  Betrayed,  or  at  least  not  supported  as  she  should 
have  been,  by  Russia,  the  little  state  was  quickly  crushed  by  the 
German  armies  and  a  great  part  of  her  territory  occupied.-    The 

retreat  to  what  is  known  as  the  M  indenburg  Line.  This  movement,  however,  was  not  made 
until  the  spring  of  1917.  The  territory  given  up  was  wantonly  and  ruthlessly  devastated 
by  the  retreating  Germans. 

1  August  27,  1916.  2  Xhc  campaign  was  not  completed  until  191 7. 


§  943]  GERMAN  SUBMARINE  OPERATIONS  687 

tragic  collapse  of  Rumania  gave  an  entirely  different  aspect  to 
the  German  situation  and  prospects.  Germany's  mastery  of  the 
continent  now  seemed  assured. 

943.  The  German  Government  announces  its  Purpose  to 
resume  Unrestricted  Submarine  Operations  (January  31, 1917). 
We  have  noted  the  submarine  controversy  between  the  United 
States  and  Germany  (sect.  938).  The  pledge  given  the  United 
States  by  the  German  government  not  to  torpedo  liners  without 
first  caring  for  the  safety  of  crew  and  passengers  was  only  par- 
tially kept  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  Then  Germany  gave  notice 
to  the  United  States  government  that  it  would  immediately  do 
away  with  the  restrictions  which  up  to  that  time  it  had  impressed 
upon  its  use  of  its  submarines.  This  meant  that  all  ships  entering 
designated  areas  in  the  Mediterranean  or  a  zone  drawn  around 
the  British  Isles  would  be  sunk  on  sight  and  without  regard  to 
the  safety  of  the  persons  they  carried.^ 

The  answer  of  the  United  States  government  to  this  amazing 
announcement  was  to  hand  the  German  ambassador,  Bernstorff, 
his  passports.-  This  meant  the  severance  of  all  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  the  Imperial  German  Government.  In  an  address  of 
great  dignity  and  earnestness  President  Wilson  informed  the  Con- 
gress of  the  step  he  had  taken.  The  address  was  in  effect  a  warn- 
ing to  the  Imperial  German  Government  not  to  do  the  thing  it 
had  threatened  to  do. 

944.  Germany  seeks  Alliance  with  Mexico  against  the 
United  States.  The  feeling  of  intense  indignation  aroused  in  the 
people  of  the  United  States  against  the  Imperial  German  Govern- 
ment by  its  criminal  submarine  policy  was  just  at  this  time  greatly 
intensified  by  the  publication  of  a  letter  of  instructions  from  the 
German  INIinister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Zimmermann,  to  the  German 
minister  in  Mexico,  dated  January  19,  1917,  and  running  as  fol- 
lows: ''On  the  first  of  February  we  intend  to  begin  subma- 
rine warfare  unrestricted.    In  spite  of  this,  it  is  our  intention  to 

1  Permission  was  given  to  the  United  States  to  send  one  passenger  liner  a  week  to 
Great  Britain,  provided  that  it  was  marked  in  a  certain  way  with  stripes,  departed  on  a 
specified  day,  and  made  the  port  of  Falmouth  in  England  its  destination. 

-  February  3,  191 7. 


688  THE  WORLD  WAR  Li?  945 

endeavor  to  keep  neutral  the  United  States  of  America.  If  this 
attempt  is  not  successful,  we  propose  an  alliance  on  the  following 
basis  with  Mexico :  That  we  shall  make  war  together  and  to- 
gether make  peace.  We  shall  give  general  financial  support,  and 
it  is  understood  that  Mexico  is  to  reconquer  the  lost  territory  in 
New  IMexico,  Texas,  and  Arizona.  You  are  instructed  to  inform 
the  President  of  Mexico  of  the  above  in  the  greatest  confidence 
as  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  there  will  be  an  outbreak  of  war  with 
the  United  States,  and  suggest  that  the  President  of  Mexico,  on 
his  own  initiative,  communicate  with  Japan  suggesting  adhesion 
at  once  to  this  plan.  .  .  .  Please  call  to  the  attention  of  the 
President  of  IMexico  that  the  em.ployment  of  ruthless  submarine 
warfare  now  promises  to  compel  England  to  make  peace  in  a  few 
months." 

The  publication  of  this  astounding  letter,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  German  announcement  of  the  resumption  of  unrestricted 
submarine  warfare,  made  inevitable  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 

945.  The  Russian  Revolution  (March  15,  1917).  While  the 
United  States,  on  the  verge  of  war,  was  awaiting  events,  the  at- 
tention of  the  world  was  arrested  by  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
revolutions  in  history.  On  March  15,  191 7,  Tsar  Nicholas  II,  the 
reigning  representative  of  the  House  of  Romanoff,  which  had  ruled 
despotically  in  Russia  for  over  three  hundred  years,  was  forced 
to  abdicate,  and  a  provisional  government  was  set  up.^  Amnesty 
was  granted  for  political  and  religious  offenses.  Tens  of  thousands 
of  exiles  in  Siberia  and  of  prisoners  in  the  fortresses  of  Russia 
were  set  free.  Liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  was  proclaimed. 
All  restrictions  of  a  religious  and  racial  character  were  abolished. 
Universal  suffrage  was  decreed.  A  constituent  assembly  was  to  be 
called  to  draft  a  constitution.  The  news  of  the  revolution  was 
received  by  liberals  everywhere  with  unbounded  enthusiasm.    The 

J  The  immediate  cause  of  the  revolution,  aside  from  the  widespread  suffering  of  the 
people  and  general  war-weariness,  was  the  incompetence  shown  hy  the  government  in 
the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  the  popular  belief,  which  was  well  ff)unded,  that  the  defeats 
which  the  Russian  armies  had  suffered  were  the  result  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  Russian 
officials  of  pro-German  sympathies. 


§  946]    THE  UNITED  STATES  ENTERS  THE  WAR       689 


United  States  straightway  recognized  the  new  government  and 
welcomed   Russia  as  a  member  of   the   family  of   free  nations. 

Unfortunately  the  draught  of  liberty  was  too  strong.  The 
Russian  people,  suddenly  freed  from  autocratic  tyranny,  were 
intoxicated.  They  were 
in  a  state  of  bewilder- 
ment. The  provisional 
government  made  heroic 
but  unavailing  efforts  to 
hold  back  the  country 
from  anarchy.  The  army 
fell  into  disorder  and 
confusion.  Of  this  col- 
lapse of  Russia  and  her 
practical  elimination  as 
a  military  factor  from 
the  war  we  shall  have  to 
speak  later. 

946.  The  United 
States  enters  the  War 
(April  6,  1917).  On  the 
second  day  of  April, 
191 7,  President  Wilson 
addressed  both  Houses 
of  Congress,  called  in 
extraordinary  session,  on 
the  results  of  the  unre- 
stricted operations  of  the 
German  submarines  re- 
sumed two  months  be- 
fore. "The  new  policy,"  he  said,  "has  swept  every  restriction 
aside — vessels  of  every  kind,  whatever  their  flag,  their  char- 
acter, their  cargo,  their  destination,  their  errand,  have  been  ruth- 
lessly sent  to  the  bottom  without  warning  and  without  thought 
of  help  or  mercy  for  those  on  board.  .  .  .  Even  hospital  ships 
and  ships  carrying  relief  to  the  sorely  bereaved  and  sorely  stricken 


Illustrated  Loudon  .\(U'i 


Fi(,.  1 48. 


Thi:  Last  of  the  Romanoffs 
(From  a  photograph) 


After  his  abdication  the  ex-Tsar  Nicholas  II  became 
a  prisoner  of  the  Russian  revolutionary  government. 
He  was  finally  taken  to  Siberia,  where  he  and  his 
wife  and  children  were  murdered  by  the  Bolshevists, 
who  had  seized  supreme  power.  His  seat  here  is 
the  stump  of  a  tree  which  he  has  just  felled 


690  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  946 

people  of  Belgium  .  .  .  have  been,  sunk  with  the  same  reck- 
less lack  of  compassion  or  of  principle.  .  .  .  The  present  Ger- 
man submarine  warfare  against  commerce  is  a  warfare  against 
mankind." 

The  President  then  advised  the  Congress  that  it  ''declare  the 
recent  course  of  the  Imperial  German  Government  to  be  in  fact 
nothing  less  than  war  against  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  [and]  that  it  formally  accept  the  status  of  belliger- 
ent which  has  thus  been  thrust  upon  it." 

"We  are  glad,"  he  continued,  "now  that  we  see  the  facts  with 
no  veil  of  false  pretense  about  them,  to  fight  thus  for  the  ultimate 
peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation  of  its  people,  the  German 
people  included  ;  for  the  rights  of  nations,  great  and  small,  and  the 
privilege  of  men  everywhere  to  choose  their  way  of  life  and  of  obe- 
dience.   The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy," 

The  Congress  and  the  country  were  profoundly  moved.  Four 
days  later,  on  the  sixth  of  April,  the  House  of  Representatives  by 
an  overwhelming  vote  accepted  a  joint  resolution,  which  had  al- 
ready been  passed  by  the  Senate,  and  which  declared  that  a  stale 
of  war  existed  between  the  Imperial  German  Government  and  the 
government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Thus  was  the 
momentous  decision  made,  and  the  great  American  republic, 
without  enthusiasm  but  with  grave  determination  and  with  a  good 
conscience,  entered  the  World  War. 

To  the  allied  countries  the  action  of  the  United  States  was  a 
heartening  affirmation  of  the  righteousness  of  their  cause  and  a 
sure  guarantee  of  ultimate  victory.  On  receipt  of  the  news  in 
England  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  flung  out  alongside  the  Union 
Jack  of  Great  Britain  from  the  high  tower  of  the  Parliament 
Building  at  Westminster — "the  first  time,"  it  is  said,  "that  a 
foreign  flag  was  ever  displayed  from  that  eminence." 

A  few  weeks  later  the  first  troops  of  an  expeditionary  force 
from  the  United  States,  under  General  Pershing,  landed  in  France.^ 
They  were  received  by  the  war-worn  French  people  with  frantic 
demonstrations  of  joy  and  gratitude. 

'  June  26,  1917. 


§947] 


EVENTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1917 


691 


A  fitting  memorial  of  this  historic  hour  are  the  simple  words 
uttered  by  General  Pershing  at  the  tomb  of  Lafayette.  Saluting, 
he  said,  Lafayette,  nous  voila!  ("Lafayette,  we  are  here!  "),  thus 
compressing  into  a  happy  epigram  "  the  story  of  an  historic  obliga- 
tion and  its  proud  discharge." 

947.  Other  Events  of  the  Year  1917.  After  the  decision  of 
the  United  States  government,  in  early  April,  to  accept  the  status 
of  a  belligerent  forced  upon  it 
by  the  acts  of  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man government,  the  remaining 
months  of  the  year  191 7  were 
spent  by  it  in  preparations  for 
actual  participation  in  the  war. 
The  best  part  of  its  navy  was 
sent  to  European  waters.  Ten 
million  men  between  twenty-one 
and  thirty-one  years  of  age 
were  registered,  from  whom  by 
selective  draft  a  great  army  in 
successive  installments  of  half 
a  million  or  more  was  to  be 
created,  equipped,  and  drilled. 
Sixteen  cantonments,  each  a 
veritable  city  capable  of  ac- 
commodating about  forty  thou- 
sand soldiers,  were  constructed 
and  made  ready  for  the  new 
recruits  by  early  autumn.  To 
meet  the  cost  of  these  preparations  and  the  expense  of  building  a 
great  mercantile  fleet  of  hundreds  of  vessels  to  replace  those  de- 
stroyed by  the  German  submarines,  and  of  constructing  thousands 
of  airships,  as  well  as  to  provide  for  loans  to  our  allies,  Congress 
voted  sums  of  money  reckoned  by  billions.  These  vast  amounts 
were  raised  by  increased  taxation  and  by  the  sale  of  bonds. 

In  Europe  the  summer  and  fall  months  of  the  year  witnessed 
military  operations  on  all  the  battle  fronts.    In  the  west  there  was 


Fk;.   149.       General    Pershing 

(From  a  painting  by  J.  F.  Bouchor, 

Official     Painter     to     the     French 

Armies) 


692  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§947 

practically  continuous  trench  warfare,  with  hard-fought  and  costly 
offensives  by  both  the  French  and  the  British  armies,  but  the 
enemy  lines  were  not  broken  through,  and  the  year  ended  without 
any  military  decision  on  this  front  having  been  reached. 

In  the  east  the  Russian  collapse  became  complete  by  midsum- 
mer. The  army  simply  fell  to  pieces.  Liberty  had  been  pro- 
claimed, and  to  the  simple  peasant  soldiers  that  meant  that  every 
one  was  free  to  do  as  he  liked.  Thousands  left  the  trenches  and 
returned  to  their  homes.  The  empire  disintegrated  like  the  army. 
Finland,  the  Ukraine,  and  other  districts  or  nationalities  severed 
all  relations  with  Petrograd  and  set  up  as  independent  republics. 
The  provisional  government  established  at  Petrograd  was  over- 
thrown, and  the  reins  of  power  passed  into  the  hands  of  radical 
communists  (Bolsheviki),  who  instituted  a  regime  similar  in  some 
respects  to  that  of  the  extremists  of  the  French  Revolution.  The 
leaders  of  this  counter-revolution,  Lenin  and  Trotzky,  now  opened 
peace  negotiations  with  the  Central  Powers.^  The  year  ended 
with  these  negotiations  still  in  progress. 

The  Russian  collapse  had  serious  results  for  the  Italians.  It 
allowed  the  Central  Powers  to  transfer  considerable  forces  from 
the  eastern  to  the  Italian  front.  A  great  offensive  against  the 
Italians  resulted  in  the  breaking  of  the  Italian  lines,  which  neces- 
sitated a  retreat  to  the  Piave  River  and  the  abandonment  of  all 
the  ground  that  the  Italian  armies  had  gained  in  two  years  of 
arduous  mountain  campaigning.  A  part  of  Venetia  also  was  lost 
to  the  invaders.- 

In  Asian  Turkey  the  British  forces  made  important  advances 
during  the  year.  In  the  early  spring  they  captured  the  city  of 
Bagdad,  on  the  Tigris  River,''  and  thus  gained  control  of  lower 
Mesopotamia.  Toward  the  end  of  the  year  they  wrested  from 
the  Turks  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  The  Holy  City  was  thus  restored 
to  the  Christian  world  after  having  been  in  the  hands  of  the 

'  In  December,  at  Rrest-T-itovsk. 

■■^  October  and  November,  191 7- 

3  .March  11,  1917.  An  earlier  attempt  to  take  the  city  had  ended  in  failure  and  the 
capture  of  the  entire  British  army  of  10,000  men,  under  Ciencral  Townshcnd,  at  Kut-cl- 
Amara,  below  Bagdad  on  the  Tigris  River  (April  29,  1916). 


§948]  EVENTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1918  693 

Moslems  since  its  capture  by  the  Saracens  in  the  year  637,  ex- 
cepting the  short  period  in  the  twelfth  century  when  it  was  held 
by  the  crusaders. 

On  the  sea  the  German  ruthless  warfare  against  the  merchant 
ships  of  the  world  was  the  matter  of  chief  importance.  Hundreds 
of  ships  of  the  Allies  and  of  neutrals  alike  were  sunk  and  thou- 
sands of  lives  of  non-combatants  destroyed.  But  this  inhuman 
and  lawless  method  of  warfare  resulted  in  much  greater  injury 
to  Germany  than  to  her  foes.  Shocking  as  it  did  the  universal 
conscience,  it  turned  virtually  the  whole  civilized  world  against 
Germany. 

948.  Events  of  the  Year  1918  ;  the  Armistice,  November  11. 
The  peace  negotiations  which  the  close  of  the  year  19 17  saw  in 
progress  between  Germany  and  the  revolutionary  leaders  in  Rus- 
sia left  the  once  mighty  Russian  Empire,  now  fallen  to  pieces, 
entirely  helpless  in  the  hands  of  her  conquerors.^  With  the  pres- 
sure on  the  eastern  front  thus  removed,  General  Ludendorff,  now 
in  supreme  command  of  the  German  armies,  transferred  large 
bodies  of  troops  from  Russia  to  the  western  front,  in  hopes  of 
gaining  a  military  decision  there  before  the  United  States  could 
come  with  effective  forces  to  the  aid  of  her  allies. 

With  their  armies  in  France  thus  strengthened,  the  Germans, 
late  in  March,  launched  their  carefully  prepared  drive  against  the 
French  and  British.  At  the  same  time  they  began  the  bombard- 
ment of  Paris  with  a  monstrous  long-range  cannon,  which  was 
located  seventy-five  miles  from  the  capital.  A  few  days  later  a 
bomb  from  the  huge  gun  fell  upon  a  Paris  church,  where  a  large 
congregation  was  gathered  at  a  Good  Friday  service,  killing 
seventy-five  persons  and  wounding  ninety  others. 

Under  the  terrific  onset  of  the  German  armies  the  Franco- 
British  lines  were  bent  back  with  heavy  losses,  but  were  not 
broken.  The  situation  was  most  critical.  All  the  American  sol- 
diers in  France,  under  General  Pershing,  were  offered  to  General 

1  The  Brest-Litovsk  Treaty,  dictated  by  Germany,  was  signed  by  the  representatives 
of  the  Bolshevik  government  of  Lenin  and  Trotzky  on  March  2,  1918.  The  Allies 
refused  to  recognize  the  treaty,  regarding  it  as  a  settlement  of  violence  and  injustice, 
and  one  which  laid  all  Asia  open  to  German  conquest  and  domination. 


694 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


§948 


Foch  —  who  was  invested  with  the  supreme  command  of  the 
armies  of  the  Allies — to  be  used  as  he  should  deem  best.  At 
the  same  time  urgent  appeal  was  made  to  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment to  hurry  to  France  all  the  reenforcements  possible.  In 
response  to  this  call  the  shipping  of  troops  across  the  sea  was 
hastened.  A  steady  flow  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  men 
each  month  was  maintained  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the 

United  States  had  in  France  a 
great  army  of  over  two  mil- 
lions. The  transportation  over- 
seas of  such  a  vast  army  was  an 
unprecedented  achievement,  an 
achievement  made  possible  only 
by  the  aid  of  British  transports 
and  the  vigilant  patrol  of  the  seas 
against  submarines  by  the  British 
royal  navy,  now  reenforced  by 
the  United  States  war  fleet. 

Throughout  the  spring  and 
early  summer  months  the  Ger- 
mans renewed  their  offensive  at 
intervals  and  made  further  gains. 
But  by  the  middle  of  July  the 
drive  had  spent  its  force.  The 
American  army  had  by  this  time 
been  so  greatly  augmented  that 
the  superiority  in  numbers  was  now  on  the  side  of  the  Allies.  The 
tide  of  battle  turned.  A  great  counter-offensive  was  launched.  The 
Germans  were  hurled  back  across  the  Marne.  The  so-called  Hinden- 
burg  Line,  a  fortified  zone  several  miles  wide,  consisting  of  trenches, 
caves,  wire  hedges,  and  machine-gun  nests, — "like  to  nothing  that 
ever  was  before  in  history," — was  broken  through,  and  the  Ger- 
man armies  were  forced  to  begin  a  general  retreat  from  France 
toward  the  Belgian  frontier. 

With  the  tide  of   battle  on   the   western    front   thus   running 
against  the  Germans,  disaster  was  befalling  their  allies  on  other 


Fig.  150.  Marshal  FocH.  fFrom 
a  photograph) 


§948]  EVENTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1918  695 

fronts.  In  Palestine  the  British  forces  under  General  Allenby,  on 
the  historic  field  of  Armageddon,  almost  annihilated  the  Ottoman 
armies.  The  important  cities  of  Damascus  and  Beirut  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  British  (October  2-9).  At  about  the  same  time, 
on  the  Macedonian  front,  the  Franco-Serbian  forces  inflicted  upon 
the  Bulgarian  armies  a  defeat  which,  before  the  end  of  September, 
forced  Bulgaria  to  sue  for  peace.  This  was  granted  on  terms 
which  meant  a  complete  military  surrender. 

The  withdrawal  of  Bulgaria  from  the  war,  along  with  the  re- 
verses in  Syria  and  the  critical  situation  on  the  western  front, 
caused  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  and  Turkey  simultaneously 
to  ask  through  President  Wilson  for  a  general  armistice  "on 
land  and  water  and  in  the  air"  (October  5).  The  armistice 
was  to  be  the  forerunner  of  peace  negotiations  based  on  four- 
teen propositions  (central  among  which  was  that  of  the  self- 
determination  of  peoples)  which  President  Wilson  had  formulated 
in  various  addresses. 

After  an  exchange  of  notes  between  President  Wilson  and  the 
Central  Powers,  the  matter  was  given  over  into  the  hands  of  the 
Supreme  War  Council  of  the  Allies  in  France.  Events  now  moved 
rapidly.  Before  the  end  of  the  month  Turkey,  hopelessly  defeated, 
signed  an  armistice  which  amounted  to  unconditional  surrender 
(October  30).  and  four  days  later  Austria-Hungary,  with  her 
armies  in  Italy  routed  and  the  monarchy  rapidly  dissolving  into 
its  various  racial  elements,  sought  and  obtained  an  armistice  on 
like  conditions.  At  the  same  time  the  terms  on  which  Germany 
might  be  granted  a  cessation  of  hostilities  were  formulated  by  the 
War  Council  of  the  Allies  at  Versailles,  and  handed  the  representa- 
tives of  the  German  government  for  acceptance  or  rejection  by 
eleven  o'clock,  November  11.  A  few  hours  before  the  expiration 
of  the  time  limit  the  Armistice  was  signed  by  the  German  envoys. 
Among  its  conditions  were  these:  (i)  immediate  evacuation  by 
the  German  armies,  without  harm  to  persons  or  destruction  of 
property,  of  all  invaded  countries,  and  withdrawal  across  the  Rhine 
to  a  line  about  six  miles  from  the  right,  or  east,  bank  of  that 
river;  (2)  the  surrender  of  all  submarines  and  certain  other  ships 


696  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  949 

of  the  German  navy ;  ^  and  (3)  the  immediate  repatriation  of 
allied  prisoners  and  deported  civilians,  the  restitution  of  property 
wrongfully  taken  from  invaded  countries,  and  reparation  for 
damage  done  in  occupied  territories. 

These  conditions  were  in  effect  equal  to  full  and  unconditional 
surrender,  and  were  such  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  Germany, 
at  the  expiration  of  the  truce  period,  to  renew  hostilities. 

Shortly  before  the  signing  of  the  Armistice,  Emperor  William, 
his  mad  dream  of  world  dominion  shattered,  sought  an  asylum  in 
Holland.  He  left  Germany  the  scene  of  turmoil,  revolution,  and 
threatened  anarchy.-  His  flight  was  marked  by  a  veritable  ''cas- 
cade of  thrones."  In  a  few  days  there  was  not  a  king,  duke,  grand 
duke,  or  prince  left  reigning  in  Germany. 

949.  The  United  States  in  the  War  in  1918.  While  awaiting 
the  meeting  at  Paris  of  the  representatives  of  the  victorious  allied 
and  associated  nations  for  the  formulation  of  treaties  of  peace  with 
Germany  and  her  allies,  we  will  here  interrupt  our  general  nar- 
rative of  events  that  we  may  speak  more  in  detail  of  the  war 
efforts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  of  the  part  played 
by  the  British  navy  and  the  German  submarines  in  the  war. 

We  have  seen  how,  as  the  German  offensive  in  the  early  spring 
of  1 9 18  assumed  a  menacing  aspect,  all  the  United  States  troops 
in  France  were  put  by  General  Pershing  at  the  disposal  of  Com- 
mander-in-chief Foch.  On  May  27  the  Germans  launched  their 
third  drive  and  made  a  gain  of  ten  miles,  capturing  Chateau- 
Thierry,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  Marne.  They  were  now 
within  about  forty  miles  of  Paris.  A  further  advance  of  a  few 
miles  would  put  the  city  within  reach  of  their  guns.  The  situation 
was  desperate.    The  American  troops  were  hurried  to  the  battle 

1  There  was  a  total  of  seventy-one  ships,  including  nine  battleships.  They  were 
interned  in  .Scapa  Flow,  Orkney  Islands,  Scotland,  where,  in  violation  of  the  obligations 
of  the  Armistice,  they  were  scuttled  by  their  (Icrman  crews,  June  2i,  1919. 

2  The  German  Revolution  began  at  Kiel  a  few  days  before  the  signing  of  the  Armi- 
stice. For  a  moment  it  looked  as  though  affairs  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  com- 
munists, or  "  Reds,"  as  had  happened  in  Russia.  These  extremists,  however,  were  soon 
suppressed,  and  a  constitution  formed  by  a  National  Constituent  Assembly,  —  which 
transformed,  nominally  at  least,  the  German  Empire  into  a  "German  Republic,"  -was 
adopted  July  31,  19 19. 


§949]  THE  UNITED  STATES'  PART  IN  THE  WAR      697 


front.  The  yielding  French  lines  were  stiffened,  and  the  Ger- 
man drive  was  checked.  This  marked  the  turn  of  the  tide.  The 
menace  to  Paris  was  removed. 

A  few  days  later  (June  6)  a  comparatively  small  body  of  Amer- 
icans, marines  and  soldiers,  made  an  attack  upon  a  forest  tract, 
known  as  Belleau  Wood,  near  Chateau-Thierry,  which  the  Germans 


The  Western  Front,  July  15,  1918 

had  made  into  a  veritable  machine-gun  nest.  Only  after  three 
weeks'  bitter  fighting  did  they  succeed  in  clearing  the  forest  of 
the  enemy.  This  was  almost  wholly  an  American  achievement, 
and  in  recognition  of  the  feat  the  French  government  renamed 
the  forest  IMarine  Brigade  Wood.^ 

While  the  American  soldiers  on  the  battle  front  were  thus  help- 
ing to  stop  the  German  drive,  back  of  the  lines  great  preparations, 

1  This  was  not  the  first  American  offensive.  A  little  before  this  operation  (on  May  28, 
1918)  a  division  made  up  of  units  of  the  Regular  American  Army  had  made  a  successful 
attack  upon  a  strong  enemy  position  at  Cantigny,  near  Montdidier. 


698  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  949 

under  the  direction  of  American  engineers  and  experts  of  ever>' 
kind,  were  being  made  for  the  reception,  training,  and  equipment 
of  the  greater  armies  yet  to  come  from  overseas.  At  selected  base 
ports  immense  docks,  warehouses,  and  storage  plants  were  being 
hurriedly  constructed  ;  at  points  farther  inland  great  supply  de- 
pots and  acres  of  barracks  were  being  erected  ;  artillery,  aviation, 
and  tank  schools  were  being  established  ;  training  camps  of  every 
kind  were  being  laid  out,  and  immense  hospitals  with  thousands 
of  beds  constructed  and  equipped  ;  hundreds  of  miles  of  spur  rail- 
ways connecting  the  base  ports  and  the  multitude  of  camps,  supply 
stations,  and  repair  shops  with  the  French  system  of  railroads 
and  with  the  long  battle  front  were  being  laid  out  and  pushed 
hurriedly  to  completion ;  in  the  French  forests  timber  was  being 
cut  by  American  woodmen ;  and  everywhere  motor  roads  were 
being  repaired  and  thousands  of  miles  of  telegraph  and  telephone 
wires  were  being  strung. 

At  the  same  time  that  all  this  was  going  on  in  France,  the 
United  States  government,  in  response  to  the  urgent  appeals  from 
the  Allies  for  help,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  straining  every  resource 
to  hasten  the  movement  overseas  of  troops  from  the  training 
camps.  To  refill  the  depleted  home  camps,  a  new  registration  of 
all  men  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  years  of  age  was  ordered 
(September  12).  There  were  over  twelve  million  registrants. 
The  plan  was  to  put  in  France  by  the  early  summer  of  19 19  an 
army  of  four  million  men,  with  a  reserve  of  over  a  million  in  the 
home  camps  ;  for  at  this  time  there  was  no  expectation  on  the  part 
of  the  Allies  of  bringing  the  war  to  a  successful  end  in  19 18.  The 
best  that  they  dared  hope  for  was  that  they  would  be  able  to 
hold  their  lines  through  the  summer  and  fall. 

The  gathering  and  training  of  the  man  power  of  the  nation  — 
"the  making  of  soldiers" — was  but  a  small  part  of  America's 
work  of  preparation  for  the  stern  task  ahead  ;  for  although  only  a 
small  proportion  of  the  men  of  military  age  were  actually  partici- 
pating in  the  fighting,  a  large  part  of  the  population  was  engaged 
in  one  way  or  another  with  activities  that  were  closely  associ- 
ated with  the  war.    This  was  so  because  modern  warfare,  besides 


Fk;.  151.   The  Rheims  Cathedrae  of  Today.   (From  a  photograph) 

"  The  most  majestic  and  revered  memorial  of  the  (ireat  War."   The  small  insert  shows  the 
fallen  roof  and  the  wrecked  interior,  viewed  from  the  apse  and  looking  toward  the  towers 


§  949]  THE  UNITED  STATES'  PART  IN  THE  WAR      699 

requiring  incredible  quantities  of  military  munitions  such  as 
powder  and  shells,  calls  for  artillery,  machine-guns,  tanks,  aircraft, 
engines,  automobiles,  motor  trucks,  and  supplies  and  equipment  of 
every  kind  without  limit.  Accordingly  the  greater  part  of  the  in- 
dustrial factories  and  manufacturing  plants  of  the  United  States 
were  now  turned  to  the  making  of  these  things  for  the  use  of  the 
vast  armies  that  were  being  gathered  and  trained. 

It  was  a  knowledge  of  the  colossal  scale  of  these  preparations 
in  America  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  a  successful  issue, 
and  the  rapid  transport,  in  spite  of  the  submarine  menace,  of 
American  soldiers  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  to  France,  that 
doubtless,  next  to  the  successes  of  the  armies  of  the  Allies  on  the 
battle  fronts,  had  most  to  do  in  breaking  the  German  morale 
and  thus  causing  the  collapse  of  the  German  war-machine. 

On  July  15  the  Germans  renewed  their  offensive  — making 
their  fifth  and  last  drive — at  the  point  on  the  ^Marne  where  they 
had  been  checked  by  the  French  and  Americans  in  early  June. 
They  succeeded  in  crossing  the  ISIarne  at  some  points  and  gaining 
a  foothold  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river.  But  the  Americans  were 
now  on  or  near  this  battle  front,  between  Paris  and  the  enemy, 
three  hundred  thousand  strong.  The  German  drive  was  stopped, 
and  then,  on  July  18,  the  Franco-American  troops  started  a 
counter-offensive.  The  Germans  were  driven  back  across  the 
Marne,  and  Chateau-Thierry,  on  its  northern  bank,  was  wrested 
from  them.  By  August  5  the  enemy  had  been  pushed  back  all  the 
way  from  the  ]\Iarne  to  the  Vesle,  and  the  menacing  Marne  salient 
had  been  completely  wiped  out.^ 

The  flattening  of  the  IMarne  salient  was  followed  by  the  wiping 
out  of  the  famous  St.  IMihiel  salient,  on  the  border  of  Lorraine, 
near  the  great  fortress  of  INTetz.  This  was  the  last  menacing 
German  wedge  on  the  western  front.  The  Germans  had  held  this 
salient  ever  since  their  first  advance  in  19 14.  They  had  fortified 
it  in  every  possible  way,  so  that  it  was  deemed  impregnable.  The 
capture  of  this  salient  was  the  first  great  militan,^  undertaking  of 

'  These  operations  (July  15-August  5)  constitute  what  is  known  as  the  second  battle 
of  the  Marne. 


700  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§949 

the  Americans  acting  alone.  The  operation  was  carried  out  by  the 
First  American  Army,  a  larger  American  force — it  numbered 
over  four  hundred  thousand — than  "had  ever  before  taken  part  in 
any  single  battle  in  American  history."  In  less  than  two  days 
after  the  offensive  was  launched  (September  12)  the  salient  was 
cleared  of  the  enemy,  of  whom  more  than  fifteen  thousand  were 
taken  prisoners. 

The  moral  effect  of  this  achievement  was  tremendous,  and  it 
was  hailed  by  the  Allies,  especially  by  the  French,  with  un- 
bounded enthusiasm.    It  meant  the  speedy  liberation  of  France. 

Two  weeks  after  the  capture  of  the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  Franco- 
American  forces  launched  another  offensive  (September  26),  which 
had  for  one  of  its  objectives  a  wooded  plateau,  known  as  the  Ar- 
gonne  Forest,  lying  between  the  Aisne  and  the  Meuse,  in  the 
Champagne  region,  noted  for  its  wines.  This  forest,  which  is  over 
thirty  miles  long,  had  been  made  one  of  the  strongest  positions  on 
the  western  front.  The  whole  region  was  a  perfect  maze  of 
trenches  and  wire  entanglements  with  innumerable  machine-gun 
nests.  The  Hindenburg  Line  ran  through  the  forest.  The  defenses 
were  held  by  the  pick  of  the  German  troops.  For  over  three  weeks 
the  Americans  fought  their  way  foot  by  foot  through  the  tangled 
wood.    At  the  end  of  this  time  the  whole  forest  was  in  their  hands. 

The  capture  of  the  Argonne  Forest  was  the  most  notable 
achievement  of  the  Americans  during  the  war.  The  possession  of 
this  ground  gave  the  Allies  control  of  one  of  the  two  main  German 
railway  lines  furnishing  communication  with  Germany.  This 
helped  to  make  the  German  military  situation  impossible,  and  to 
force  the  acceptance  by  the  German  staff  of  the  humiliating 
conditions  of  the  armistice  of  November  11.' 

To  the  foregoing  brief  recital  of  the  part  played  by  the  LInited 
States  in  the  war  activities  of  19 18  a  word  must  be  added  re- 
specting the  work  carried  on  by  the  American   Red  Cross,  the 

1  American  forces  were  engaged  in  less  important  operations  on  other  sectors  of  the 
western  front.  There  were  also  units  of  the  American  troops  in  northern  Russia,  in 
eastern  Siberia,  and  in  Italy.  As  officially  reported  February  6,  1920,  the  revised  list  of 
American  casualties  showed  a  total  of  29^,067,  of  which  number  215,42;}  were  wounded, 
34,844  killed  in  action,  and  42,800  died  from  wounds,  disease,  and  accidents. 


§  950]  CANADA'S  PART  IN  THE  WAR  yoi 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Knights  of  Columbus, 
the  Jewish  Welfare  Board,  the  Salvation  Army,  and  numerous 
other  organizations  of  like  spirit  and  of  similar  purpose.  These 
societies,  generously  supported  by  public  subscriptions,^  not  only 
rendered  services  of  every  kind  to  our  soldiers  in  the  training 
camps,  on  the  battlefield,  in  the  trenches,  and  in  hospitals,  but 
also  gave  relief  to  the  civilian  population  of  the  countries  where 
there  were  want  and  suffering  caused  by  the  war. 

950.  Canada's  Part  in  the  War.-  All  the  self-governing  do- 
minions of  the  British  Empire  —  Canada,  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
and  South  Africa — made  notable  records  in  the  World  War. 
None,  however,  played  a  nobler  and  more  self-sacrificing  part 
than  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Immediately  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Canada,  realizing 
the  supreme  issues  involved  in  the  conflict  that  Germany  had 
precipitated,  began  to  make  hurried  preparations  for  placing  her 
contingents  alongside  the  Imperial  British  forces  on  the  battle 
lines.  By  the  early  spring  of  1915  Canadian  troops  were  in  the 
trenches  on  the  western  front,  and  at  the  second  battle  of  Ypres, 
where  the  Germans  treacherously  made  their  first  poison  gas  at- 
tack, they  held  the  shaken  lines  with  heroism  beyond  praise,  and 
thereby  saved  the  imperiled  Channel  ports,  but  only  at  the  terrible 
cost  of  eight  thousand  killed  and  wounded. 

During  the  following  year  (19 16)  the  Canadian  troops  partici- 
pated in  all  the  chief  operations  on  the  sector  of  the  western 
front  held  by  the  British.  They  played  a  specially  brilliant  part, 
along  with  Australians  and  New  Zealanders,  in  the  long,  bitterly 
contested  first  battle  of  the  Somme  (July-November)  and  helped 
to  write  that  "enduring  page  in  Anglo-Saxon  history." 

In  the  early  days  of  19 17  the  Canadian  troops  achieved  added 
fame  by  their  gallant  storming,  in  the  course  of  the  operations  of 

1  The  .Vmcrican  Red  Cross  .ilone  received  over  $400,000,000  in  money  and  supplies, 
besides  uncounted  contributions  of  personal  service,  "by  far  the  largest  voluntary  gifts 
of  money,  of  hand  and  heart,  ever  contributed  for  the  relief  of  human  suffering.'' 

'-  The  statements  of  this  section  are  based  in  large  part  on  a  report  entitled 
"Canada's  War  Effort,"  by  .Sir  Robert  I.aird  Hordcn,  Prime  Minister  of  Canada 
(Simonds,  History  of  the  World  War^  vol.  iv,  pp.  3<)6-40i). 


702  THE  WORLD  WAR  [^5  951 

the  third  battle  of  Ypres,  of  Vimy  Ridge,  a  commanding  height 
on  the  Belgian  front.  The  capture  of  this  position  has  been 
pronounced  "one  of  the  finest  achievements  of  the  whole  war." 
Later  in  the  year,  on  the  same  Belgian  sector,  the  Canadians 
wrested  from  the  enemy  the  strategically  important  high  ground 
of  Passchendaele  Ridge. 

Throughout  the  last  year  of  the  war  the  Canadian  Corps  bore 
a  full  share  in  all  the  operations  of  the  Allies  in  defense  and  at- 
tack. They  aided  in  checking  and  holding  down  the  great  German 
drives  during  the  early  critical  months  of  the  year,  and  then,  when 
through  the  arrival  of  United  States  troops  in  force  the  initiative 
had  passed  from  the  enemy,  they  participated  in  the  general  at- 
tack and  advance  of  the  Allies  which  resulted  in  the  breaking  of 
the  Hindenburg  Line,  the  final  retreat  of  the  German  armies,  and 
the  liberation  of  the  French  and  Belgian  territories  which  the 
Germans  had  so  long  occupied  and  devastated. 

Nothing,  however,  so  impressively  summarizes  the  greatness  of 
Canada's  effort  and  of  her  contribution  to  the  winning  of  the  war, 
or  speaks  so  eloquently  of  the  fortitude  and  gallantry  of  the 
Canadian  Corps,  as  the  figures  of  Canadian  casualties  during  the 
four  years  of  the  conflict.  Out  of  the  more  than  four  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  men  that  Canada  sent  overseas  nearly  a 
hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand  were  wounded  and  fifty-seven 
thousand  lost  their  lives.  And  these  were  the  flower  of  Canada's 
young  manhood. 

95L  The  British  Navy  in  the  War.  The  part  played  by  the 
British  navy  in  the  World  War  affords  an  impressive  illustration 
f)f  the  importance  of  sea  power  in  history,  for  British  command 
of  the  sea  was  undoubtedly  the  most  vital  factor  in  the  great 
struggle.  Without  that  command  the  war  could  not  have  been 
won  by  the  Allies. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  British  grand  fleet  was  hurried 
to  its  chief  observation  station  in  northern  Scotland.  The  German 
fleet  was  thus  barred  from  the  Atlantic  and,  by  what  might  be 
called  a  long-distance  blockade,  was  virtually  shut  up  in  its  home 
ports.    The  few  German  cruisers  at  large  were  in  a  few  months 


§952]  THE  BRITISH  NAVY  IN  THE  WAR  703 

run  down  or  driven  to  shelter.^  In  this  work  the  British  navy 
was  aided  by  the  French  and  Japanese  fleets. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  seas  were  freed  from  German  raiders 
they  were  cleared  of  German  merchant  ships.  Immediately  upon 
the  opening  of  hostilities  these  hurriedly  sought  refuge  in  home 
ports  or  in  the  harbors  of  neutral  countries,  where  they  remained 
idle  during  the  war.  This  closing  of  the  seas  to  German  ships 
and  the  keeping  of  them  open  to  the  ships  of  the  Allies  and  of 
neutrals  gave  the  powers  lighting  Germany  a  decisive  advantage 
in  the  great  struggle.  "  It  made  the  world  the  arsenal  and  granary 
of  the  Allies." 

With  the  seas  once  cleared  of  enemy  ships,  the  services  of 
the  British  navy,  rendered  throughout  the  dragging  years  of  the 
war  with  traditional  British  heroism  and  tenacity,  consisted  in  the 
patrol  of  the  North  Sea,  in  an  unremitting  watch  upon  the  German 
grand  fleet,  in  the  maintenance  of  the  blockade  of  the  German 
ports,  in  clearing  the  seas  of  the  mines  laid  by  enemy  submarines, 
and  in  the  transport  of  millions  of  soldiers  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  to  the  battle  areas  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  In  render- 
ing these  and  other  like  services  the  British  navy  during  the  first 
two  years  of  the  war — that  is,  before  the  British  armies  had 
become  a  real  factor  on  the  battle  lines — made  to  the  cause  of 
the  Allies  a  contribution  without  which  the  war  would  inevitably 
have  been  won  by  Germany .- 

952.  German  Submarine  Warfare  and  its  Results.  There 
is  a  striking  parallel  between  the  policy  of  ruthless  submarine 
warfare  adopted  by  the  Germans  in  the  World  War  and  Napoleon's 
arrogant  Continental  Blockade,  which  it  will  be  worth  our  while 
to  note  here,  particularly  because  of  its  relation  to  the  subject 
of  sea  power. 

1  Two  nerman  cruisers,  the  Gochcti  and  the  Prcshiii,  in  the  IMeditcrmnean,  unfor- 
tunately escaped  into  the  Dardanelles  and  became  an  important  factor  in  drawing 
Turkey  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers.  At  the  Falkland  Islands,  in  the 
South  Atlantic,  the  only  German  squadron  on  the  seas  was  destroyed  by  the  British, 
December  7,  1974. 

2  The  single  great  battle  fought  during  the  war  between  considerable  portions  of  the 
British  and  (Jerman  grand  fleets  was  the  encounter  off  Jutland,  May  31,  iQifi,  which  has 
already  been  noted  (p.  fiS:;,  n.  ^). 


704  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  952 

It  will  be  recalled  how  Napoleon,  unable  to  reach  his  chief 
enemy,  England,  intrenched  behind  her  navy-guarded  island  home, 
adopted  the  policy  of  a  blockade  of  the  Continent  against  British 
commerce,  and  how  this  policy,  leading  him  on  from  one  aggression 
to  another  and  finally  to  the  fatal  campaigns  against  Spain  and 
Russia,  resulted  at  last  in  his  undoing  (sect.  797).  Now,  in  like 
manner,  Germany,  unable  to  reach  directly  her  formidable  enemy 
England,  adopted  her  illegal  submarine  policy,  which,  rousing 
against  her  the  whole  world  and  ultimately  drawing  the  United 
States  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies,  brought  about  her 
downfall  and  ruin.' 

It  was  in  the  third  year  of  the  war,  it  will  be  recalled,  that 
Germany,  now  equipped  with  a  large  number  of  submarines, 
casting  aside  all  moral  considerations,  entered  upon  unrestricted 
submarine  operations.  During  February  and  March  (191 7)  the 
German  U-boats  sank  over  eight  hundred  vessels,  both  allied  and 
neutral.  A  continuance  of  this  rate  of  sinkings  would  have  forced 
Great  Britain  to  give  up  the  struggle  by  September,  leaving 
German  power  dominant  in  the  world.- 

The  terrible  menace  was  met  and  overcome  in  various  ways. 
Among  the  means  employed  were  the  convoy  system — that  is, 
the  sailing  of  merchant  vessels  in  groups  guarded  by  warships,  a 
system  impossible  of  effective  adoption  before  the  United  States  en- 
tered the  war  because  of  the  lack  of  anti-submarine  craft ;  the  use 
of  depth  bombs — bombs  so  constructed  as  to  explode  only  after 
reaching  a  certain  depth  in  the  water ;  and  the  employment  of 
observation  airplanes,  those  "eyes  of  the  army,"  which,  now  used 
as  eyes  for  the  navy,  revealed  the  lurking  submarines  even  when 
lying  far  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  By  November  of  191 7 
the  crisis  was  past.  The  sinkings  fell  from  nearly  a  million  tons 
in  April  of  that  year  to  less  than  half  that  number  in  September. 

1  See  Simonds,  Histoiy  of  the  World  War,  vol.  ii,  pp.  ;?7-40. 

2  The  sinkings  for  each  year  of  the  war  were  as  follows : 

1914    ....       314,694  tons  1917    ....    6,187,700  tons 

191.;    ....    1,298,748  tons  1918    ....    2,675,520  tons 

1916    ....    2,291,437  tons 


§953] 


THE  PEACE  CONVENTION 


705 


The  peril  from  the  submarine  activities  was  finally  so  reduced 
as  to  become  almost  negligible  by  the  laying  of  a  mine  barrage 
from  Scotland  to  Norway,  which  effectually  closed  the  North  Sea 
and  prevented  the  enemy  submarines  from  passing  out  into  the 
Atlantic/  The  laying  of  this  obstruction  was  one  of  the  greatest 
engineering  feats  of  the  war. 
It  was  largely  an  achievement 
of  the  American  navy,  aided  by 
the  British  fleet.  The  barrage 
consisted  of  several  lines  of 
mines  stretching  from  coast  to 
coast,  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
and  thirty  miles.  It  required 
the  laying  of  over  seventy  thou- 
sand mines,  of  which  about  four 
fifths  were  laid  by  United  States 
ships.  The  obstruction  became 
effective  in  the  early  summer  of 
19 1 8,  there  being  evidence  that 
more  than  a  score  of  the  Ger- 
man U-boats  were  destroyed  in 
attempting  to  pass  the  barrier. 
The  construction  of  this  bar- 
rage, destroying  as  it  did  the 
last   hope   of    the    Germans    of 

winning    the   war   with   their   submarines,   helped   materially    in 
bringing  the  terrible  struggle  to  an  end. 

953.  The  Peace  Convention  at  Paris  and  the  Treaty  of  Ver- 
sailles. Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  Armistice 
(sect.  948)  the  German  government  began  the  withdrawal  of  its 
armies  from  the  ground  on  which  they  still  stood  in  France  and 
Belgium.-    At  the  same  time  arrangements  were  being  made  for 

1  Net  barriers  closed  the  English  Channel  at  its  narrowest  point,  at  Dover. 

2  The  demobilization  of  the  armies  of  the  Allies  was  now  begun.  By  September  50, 
1019,  the  great  L'nited  States  army  in  Europe  as  well  as  the  forces  in  the  home  camps 
(in  all  about  4,000,000  men)  had  been  returned  to  civil  life,  leaving  overseas  only  a  few 
thousand  troops. 


(£)  Harris  &  Hwing 

Fig.  152.    Pre.mier  Clemence.a.u 
OF  France.   (From  a  photograph) 


7o6 


THE  WORLD  WAR 


[§953 


the  meeting  of  the  delegates  of  the  allied  and  associated  powers 
for  framing  a  general  treaty  of  peace.  The  convention  opened  at 
Paris,  January  i8,  1919.  Twenty-seven  nations  were  represented. 
President  Wilson  was  the  head  of  the  American  delegation. 
Premier  Clemenceau  of  France  was  president  of  the  Convention. 

The  work  of  the  congress 
embraced  a  bewildering  variety 
of  matters,  among  which  were 
included  (i)  the  drawing  of 
the  articles  of  definitive  peace 
treaties;  (2)  the  settlement 
of  the  boundaries  of  Germany 
and  of  the  new  states  created 
by  the  disintegration  of  the 
./\ustro-Hungarian  Monarchy 
and  the  Russian  and  Turkish 
empires;  and  (3)  the  framing 
of  a  covenant  for  a  League 
of  Nations.  The  work  was 
divided  among  a  great  num- 
ber of  committees  or  com- 
missions, who  were  aided  in 
their  task  by  more  than  a 
thousand  historical,  ethnolog- 
ical, geographical,  and  diplo- 
matic experts. 

The  work  of  framing  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  was 
first  completed.  The  tentative  draft  of  the  epoch-making  docu- 
ment was  published  February  14,  19 19,  and  immediately  became 
the  subject  of  a  world-wide  discussion.  The  articles  of  the  Cove- 
nant were  interwoven  with  and  made  a  part  of  the  treaty  with 
Germany,  and  likewise  embodied  in  each  of  the  separate  treaties 
made  with  her  allies. 

On  June  28,  1919,  in  the  famous  Hall  of  Mirrors  in  the  Trianon 
Palace  at  Versailles — the  very  hall  in  which  King  William  I  was 
proclaimed  German  Emperor  in  1871 — the  treaty  with  Germany 


©  Harris  &  Kwina 

¥](..  153.     President  Woodrow 
Wilson.    (From  a  photograph) 


30  LoiiL'itudo  20  West  10 


0    Lnniritiidc   10      Vm- 


Ji 


c 


EUROPE 

AFTER  THE  WORLD 


Ijorrfrltiiilo  10 


tjfttlcd  b<jiiiidarie9  Uiisctllt'd  IjDiuidarics 

Boundary  of  the  Zone  of  the  Straits 


c 


S     E 


f^c^ik0^  s  u  s-^-    X    \         H 

COMPARATIVE   AREA 


,^^ 


400  MILES 


PENNSYLVANIA 
45,000  SQ.  MILES 


THIS  RECTANGLE  CONTAINS 
100,000  SQ.  MILES 


s 


Greenwich       40 


Sovereignty  to  be  determined 
by  popular  vote 


Areas  under  control  of  the 
League  of  Nations 


§953] 


THE  PEACE  COXFEREXCE 


707 


was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  the  alHed  and  associated 
powers  on  the  one  side  and  the  delegates  of  Germany  on  the  other. 

The  important  territorial  readjustments  that  directly  concerned 
Germany  were  as  follows :  Alsace-Lorraine  was  restored  to  France 
to  redress  the  wrong  done  by  Germany  in  187 1.  The  Saar  basin, 
a  rich  German  coal  and  iron  region,  was  temporarily  internation- 
alized and  the  mines  .of  the  district  were  ceded  in  full  ownership 
to  France  as  compensation  for 
the  wanton  destruction  of  French 
mines  in  the  territories  occupied 
by  the  German  armies. 

To  undo  the  wrong  done  to 
Denmark  by  Prussia  in  1864, 
such  parts  of  Schleswig  were  to 
be  reunited  to  Denmark  as  the 
inhabitants  of  these  parts  by 
free  and  secret  vote  should 
determine. 

On  the  East,  Germany  ceded 
Posen,  West  Prussia  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  V'istula,  and  parts 
of  Silesia  to  the  new  Poland. 
These  cessions  were  mainly  resti- 
tutions of  lands  acquired  by 
Prussia  through  the  greatest  in- 
ternational crime  in  the  records 
of  modern  Europe  prior  to  the  violation  of  the  neutrality  of  Bel- 
gium by  the  Germans  in  19 14.'  Danzig,  the  Baltic  port  of  old 
Poland,  was  made  a  free  city  and  placed  under  the  protection  of 
the  League  of  Nations. 

Germany  was  further  required  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
to  recognize  the  full  sovereignty  of  restored  Belgium  and  the 
complete  independence  of  German  Austria  (within  the  frontiers 
to  be  fixed  later)  and  of  the  new  states  of  Czechoslovakia  and 
Poland,  and  to  renounce  all  rights  and  privileges  in  her  African 

'  See  sects.  710,  718. 


^  Harris  tS:  liw  in>: 

Fig.  154.  Premier  David  Llovd 

George    of     Great    Britain. 

(From  a  photograph) 


7o8  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§  953 

colonies  and  other  possessions  outside  of  Europe  in  favor  of  the 
collective  or  individual  allied  and  associated  powers.^ 

The  provisions  of  the  treaty  in  regard  to  the  German  army, 
navy,  and  armament  factories  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  render 
Germany  incapable  of  launching  another  war  of  aggression.  They 
required  that  the  army  be  reduced  to  one  hundred  thousand  men ; 
that  all  factories  for  the  manufacture  of  war  munitions  (save  a 
few  specifically  excepted)  should  be  closed ;  that  the  manufacture 
of  poisonous  gases  should  cease ;  that  all  military  schools  should 
be  abolished ;  that  no  armed  forces  be  maintained  in  a  prescribed 
zone  east  of  the  Rhine;  that  all  fortifications  and  military  estab- 
lishments on  the  island  of  Helgoland,  the  "German  Gibraltar," 
be  destroyed  "under  the  supervision  of  the  Allies  by  German  labor 
and  at  Germany's  expense." 

In  respect  to  responsibility  for  the  war  a  special  article  of  the 
treaty  arraigned  the  Kaiser  in  these  words :  "The  allied  and  asso- 
ciated powers  publicly  arraign  William  H  of  Hohenzollern,  for- 
merly German  Emperor,  for  a  supreme  offense  against  international 
morality  and  the  sanctity  of  treaties."  His  surrender  was  to  be 
requested  of  the  Netherlands  for  trial  before  an  international 
tribunal.  All  other  persons  who  had  violated  the  laws  of  war 
were  to  be  given  up  by  Germany  for  trial  and  punishment.- 

By  additional  articles  of  the  treaty  Germany  accepted  the 
responsibility  of  herself  and  her  allies  for  the  war  and  bound  her- 
self to  restore  the  cars,  industrial  machinery,  works  of  art,  and 
other  articles  she  had  carried  away  from  the  countries  she  had 
overrun,  and  to  pay  such  sum  in  reparation  for  damages  inflicted 
as  a  commission  might  decide  to  be  just  and  within  her  power. 

Concluding  sections  of  the  treaty  provided  that  it  should  come 
into  force  as  soon  as  ratified  by  Germany  on  the  one  hand  and  by 
three  of  the  principal  allied  and  associated  powers  on  the  other. 

1  Dermany  renounced  in  favor  of  Japan  all  rights,  titles,  and  privileges  that  she  had 
acquired  in  the  province  of  Shantung  by  treaty  or  through  "other  arrangements" 
with  China. 

■■^  Uy  note  dated  January  15,  1920,  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Peace  Conference  de- 
manded of  the  Netherlands  government  the  extradition  of  the  former  Emperor  VViljiam. 
The  demand  was  refused. 


§953]  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  709 

By  January  10,  1920,  these  requirements  had  been  met,  and  on 
that  date  the  treaty,  through  exchange  of  ratifications  between 
Germany  on  the  one  part  and  France,  Great  Britain,  Italy,  Japan, 
Belgium,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  Guatemala,  Peru,  Poland,  Siam,  Czecho- 
slovakia, and  Uruguay  on  the  other  part,  became  effective  between 
the  powers  that  had  ratified  it.  This  left  the  United  States  the  only 
great  power  still  nominally  at  war  with  Germany,  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  having  up  to  this  time  refused  to  ratify  the  treaty.^ 
Two  days  later  President  Wilson  in  compliance  with  a  provision 
of  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  issued  a  call  for  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  League  in  Paris  on  January  16, 
1920.  In  transmitting  this  summons  to  the  governments  con- 
cerned. President  Wilson  suggested  the  deep  significance  of  the 
meeting  in  these  words  :  "  It  will  mark  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  in  international  cooperation  and  the  first  great  step  toward 
the  ideal  concert  of  nations."  On  the  day  named  in  the  call  the 
Council  met  in  Paris,  and  the  League  of  Nations  thus  came  into 

1  About  two  months  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  with  Germany  there  was  signed 
at  St.  Germain  (September  lo,  1919)  a  treaty,  similar  to  it  in  essentials,  between  the 
allied  powers  and  Austria,  which  was  now  merely  a  pitiful  fragment,  with  a  population 
of  about  7,000,000,  of  the  old  Austria-Hungary.  By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  .-\ustria  was 
required  to  cede  to  Italy  the  Trentino  and  Trieste,  and  acknowledge  the  independence 
and  sovereignty  of  the  new  states — Poland,  Czechoslovakia,  and  Jugoslavia  —  which 
had  been  formed  in  whole  or  in  part  out  of  provinces  of  the  disrupted  .\ustro-Hungarian 
Monarchy.  She  was  further  required  to  assume  the  title  of  Republic  of  .Austria,  and  was 
forbidden  to  unite  with  Germany  without  the  consent  of  the  Council  of  the  League  of 
Nations.  The  treaty  between  the  Allies  and  Bulgaria  was  signed  on  November  27,  1919. 
I5ulgaria  was  stripped  of  almost  all  her  recent  conquests  and  virtually  disarmed.  The 
treaty  with  Hungary  was  signed  June  4,  1920.  By  its  provisions  Hungary  surrendered 
large  tracts  of  non-Hungarian  lands  to  Rumania,  Poland,  and  Czechoslovakia.  Hungary 
was  left  a  shrunken  state  with  a  population  reduced  from  over  2 1,000,000  to  about  9,000,000. 
The  Turkish  treaty  was  signed  .August  to,  1920.'  Hs  terms  were  drastic  —  and  righteously 
so.  The  Turkish  Empire  was  dismembered,  no  part  of  its  pre-war  territories  being  left 
under  Turkish  sovereignty  cxxept  Constantinople  with  a  small  adjoining  district,  and 
western  Asia  Minor  (.Anatolia).  The  Dardanelles  and  Bosphorus  were  internationalized  ; 
Smyrna  with  adjacent  territory  was  given  to  Greece ;  Armenia  (exact  frontiers  to  be 
fixed  by  commission)  was  declared  a  free  and  independent  republic ;  Syria,  Palestine 
(promised  to  the  Zionists  as  a  national  homeland  for  the  Jews),  and  Mesopotamia  were 
made  independent  states,  for  which  mandatories  were  to  be  named  in  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  :  the  freedom  and  independ- 
ence of  the  .Arab  kingdom  of  the  Hejaz  was  recognized  ;  and  Turkev  acknowledged 
Great  Britain's  protectorate  over  Egypt  and  agreed  to  her  annexation  of  Cyprus,  which 
had  been  proclaimed  in  1914. 


710  THE  WORLD  WAR  [§954 

real  and  active  being.  Later  in  the  year  (November  15)  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  the  League  was  held  in  Geneva,  with 
the  representatives  of  forty-two  nations  in  attendance. 

954.  Some  Assured  Results  of  the  World  War.  Not  until 
sufficient  time  has  elapsed  to  prove  the  stability  of  the  work  of 
the  Paris  Peace  Conference  will  it  be  possible  to  make  anything 
like  a  complete  appraisal  of  the  results  of  the  World  War.  How- 
ever, there  are  already  certain  assured  outcomes  of  the  fateful 
struggle  of  which  we  should  here  make  note  because  of  their  rela- 
tion to  the  democratic,  nationalistic,  and  world-federative  move- 
ments,—  those  great  trends  in  universal  history  which  it  has  been 
a  chief  purpose  of  ours  to  portray  in  the  foregoing  pages. 

First,  the  war  has  imparted  a  fresh  impulse  to  the  democratic 
movement.  This  it  has  done  by  discrediting  irretrievably  auto- 
cratic, militaristic  government  and  demonstrating  the  strength  and 
superiority  of  government  based  on  individual  freedom  and  popular 
sovereignty.  It  has  brought  definitely  to  an  end  government  by 
divine-right  kings.  It  has  called  into  existence  half  a  score  new 
republics.    It  has  "made  the  world  safe  for  democracy." 

Second,  the  war  has  greatly  promoted  the  nationalistic  move- 
ment. Precipitated  by  a  great  imperial  power  whose  aim  was 
world  dominion,  this  challenge  to  the  spirit  of  nationality  has 
resulted  in  the  disruption,  partial  or  complete,  of  four  great  op- 
pressive empires  —  Hohenzollern,  Hapsburg,  Romanoff,  and  Otto- 
man—  and  has  brought  about  the  regrouping  of  their  liberated 
peoples  in  accordance  with  the  aspirations  of  race  and  the  spirit 
of  nationalism.  If  there  had  been  no  other  result  than  the  creation 
of  these  nation-states, —  Finland,  Esthonia,  Latvia,  Lithuania, 
Poland,  Czechoslovakia,  Jugoslavia,  Armenia,  the  Arab  kingdom 
of  the  Hejaz,  and  the  rest, —  that  alone  would  go  far  to  com- 
pensate humanity  for  the  tragic  sacrifices  of  the  titanic  war.' 

'  At  the  same  time  lh:n  these  new  national  stales  came  into  being,  the  unification  of 
the  Italian  and  of  the  Rumanian  people  was  substantially  completed  and  that  of  the 
CJreek  race  greatly  advanced.  I'urthermore,  Cermany,  Austria,  and  Hungary,  with 
the  peoples  or  fragments  of  peoples  they  had  been  holding  in  political  servitude 
liberated,  became  ifUional  republics.  All  this  marks  a  great  triumph  for  the  principle 
of  nationality. 


§954]  SOME  RESULTS  OF  THE  WAR  711 

Third,  the  war  has  given  a  great  impulse  to  the  historic  trend 
toward  the  definite  organization  of  the  world.  This  is  doubtless 
historically  the  most  significant  outcome  of  the  great  struggle,  for 
the  formation  of  the  League  of  Nations,  although  the  federation 
as  yet  embraces  only  a  part  of  the  sovereign  and  independent 
nations  of  the  world,  carries  the  pledge  and  promise  of  the  final 
consummation,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  of  that  age-long  movement 
toward  world  union  which,  in  the  grouping  of  warring  clans  and 
tribes  into  city-states  and  petty  kingdoms,  began  in  the  obscurity 
of  prehistoric  times. 

References.  On  the  background  and  causes  of  the  war:  The  A'aiser  vs.  Bis- 
t?iarck  (the  third  volume  of  Bismarck's  Retnhtiscences).  Brrnhardi,  Kriedrich 
VON,  Germany  and  the  N^ext  War.  Smith,  T.  Y.  A.,  The  Soul  of  Germany. 
Usher,  R.  G.,  Fan-Germanisfn.  CHi;RADAME,  A.,  The  Fan-German  Flat 
Unmasked.  GERARD,  J.  W.,  My  Four  Years  in  Germajiy.  Woods,  H.  C, 
The  Cradle  of  the  IVar.  Jastrow,  M.,  The  War  a?id  the  Bagdad  Fail-way. 
Seymour,  C,  The  Diplomatic  Backgrou7id  of  the  War.  Stowell,  E.  C,  The 
Diplomacy  of  the  Warof  igi4.  Schurman,  J.  G.,  The  Balkan  IVars.  Gibbons, 
II.  A.,  The  New  Map  of  Europe.  Davis,  S.  D.  (with  collaborators).  The  Roots 
of  the  War.  Beck,  J.  M.,  The  Evidence  in  the  Case.  Lichnowsky,  Prince 
Karl,  The  Guilt  of  Germany.  Grelling,  R.,  /  Accuse!  (published  anony- 
mously during  the  war).  The  text  of  the  official  documents  (the  "  British 
White  Paper,"  the  "German  White  Book,"  the  "  French  \'ellow  Book,"  etc.) 
of  the  belligerent  governments  bearing  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  will  be  found 
in  convenient  form  in  the  pamphlets  issued  by  The  American  Association  for 
International  Conciliation,  407  West  117th  St.,  New  York  City. 

On  the  years  of  the  war  and  the  Peace  Conference:  Whui.ock,  B., 
Belgium  under  German  Occupation,  z  vols.  Morgenthau,  H.,  .Ambassador 
Morgenthau's  Sto7y.  Ba.ssett,  J.  S.,  0«r //^rTC'//>4  Gertnany.  McMaster,  J.  B., 
The  United  States  in  the  World  War.  UsHER,  R.  G.,  The  Slon-  of  the  Great 
War.  SiMONDS,  F.  H.,  I/is  ion'  of  the  World  War,  5  vols.  The  AWi'  York  Times 
Current  History ;  The  European  War,  20  vols.  Hayes,  C.  ].  H.,  A  Brief  Histoty 
of  the  Great  War.  Turner,  E.  R.,  Europe,  iySg-ig20,  part  ii,  chaps,  xi-xiii. 
Haskins,  C.  H.,  and  Lord,  R.  II.,  Some  Problems  of  the  Feace  Conference. 
Lansing,  R.,  The  Feace  jVegotiations :  A  Fersonal  A'arrative.  Tardieu.  \., 
The  Truth  about  the  Treaty.  House,  E.  M.,  and  Seymour.  C.  (editors),  What 
Really  Happened  at  Faris :  the  Stoty  of  the  Feace  Conference,  igiS-igig,  by 
American  Delegates.  Temi'ERI.EY,  II.  W.  V.  (editor),  A  History  of  the  Peace 
Conference  of  Paris,  5  vols,  (three  volumes  published  up  to  the  date  of  printing 
this).    Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Russian  Bolshevik  Rc'olution. 


APPENDIX 


A.    SOURCE  BOOKS 

Davis,  W.  S.,  Readings  in  Ancient  History,  2  vols.  Thallon,  I.  C,  Headings 
in  Greek  History.  Fling,  F.  M.,  A  Source  Book  of  Greek  History.  Webster, 
H.,  Readings  in  Ancient  History.  MuNRO,  D.  C,  A  Source  Book  of  Rotnati  His- 
tory. Monroe,  P.  M.,  Source  Book  of  the  History  of  Education  for  the  Greek  and 
Roman  Period.  Robinson,  J.  H.,  Readings  in  European  History,  2  vols.  Ogg, 
F.  A.,  A  Source  Book  of  A/edicEval  Histoty.  Lee,  G.  C,  Source-Book  of  Etiglisk 
History.  Henderson,  E.  F.,  Select  Historical  Documents.  Kendall,  E.  K., 
Source-Book  of  English  History.  Whitcomb,  M.,  A  Literaty  Source-Book  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance. 

B.    TOPICS   FOR  CLASS  REPORTS  ^ 

Chapter  L  i.  The  relation  of  domesticated  animals  to  man's  advance  in 
civilization:  Shaler,  N.  S.,  Domesticated  Animals,  pp.  103-151;  Daven- 
port, E.,  Domesticated  Animals  and  Plants,  chap.  i.  2.  The  making  and  the 
use  of  fire:  Mason,  O.  T.,  The  Origin  of  Invention,  chap,  iii,  and  First  Steps 
in  Human  Culture,  chaps,  i,  ii ;  Frobenius,  L.,  The  Childhood  of  Man,  chap, 
xxvii.  3.  The  origin  of  writing:  Hoffmann,  W.  J.,  The  Beginnings  of  Writ- 
ing; Mason,  O.  T.,  First  Steps  in  Human  Culture,  chap,  xxi ;  TvLOR,  E.  B., 
Anthropology,  chap,  vii ;  Keary,  C.  F.,  The  Da'cun  of  Histoty,  chaps,  xii,  xiii. 
4.  The  dawn  of  art:  Reinach,  S.,  Apollo,  pp.  1-9;  Parkvn,  E.  A.,  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Study  of  Prehistoric  Art,  chaps,  iii,  iv. 

Chapter  IL  i.  The  unity  of  the  human  race:  Ratzel,  F.,  The  Histoty  of 
Alankind,  vol.  I,  pp.  3-5.  2.  Physical  characteristics  as  a  basis  of  classifica- 
tion:   Haddon,  a.  C,  The  Races  of  Man  and  their  Distribution,  pp.  1-6. 

Chapter  IIL  i.  Characteristics  of  Egyptian  art:  Reinach,  S.,  Apollo, 
pp.  17-22.  2.  Industrial  arts:  Maspero,  G.,  Egyptiati  Archicology,  chap.  v. 
3.  Dwellings  of  the  poor  and  of  the  rich  :  Maspero,  G.,  Egyptian  Archcrology, 
pp.  2-28.  4.  The  market  and  the  shops  :  Maspero,  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt 
and  Assyria,  chap.  ii.  5.  The  Tell  el-Amarna  letters:  Breasted,  J.  H.,  His- 
tory  of  Egypt,  pp.  332-337,  382-389,  393;  Ball,  C.  J.,  Light  from  the  East, 
pp.  86-94. 

Chapter  IV.  i.  French  excavations  at  Tello  :  Hilpreciit,  II.  V.,  Explora- 
tions in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  216-260.  2.  .American  excavations  at  Nippur: 
Peters,  J.  P.,  Nippur,  vol.  ii,  chaps,  ii-x;   Hilpreciit,  H.  V.,  Explorations  in 

1  Mildred  C.  Bishop  and  Edward  K.  Robinson's /^;-(7t7/V(7/ .!/(?/  Exercises  in  Medieval 
and  .Modern  European  History  will  be  found  serviceable  in  map  studies. 

i 


ii  APPENDIX 

Bible  Lands,  pp.  289-568.  3.  The  temple  archives:  J.v.stkow,  M.,  The  Civili- 
zation of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  pp.  316-318.  4.  Moral  maxims  and  penitential 
psalms:  J.ASTROW,  M.,  The  Civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  Y>p.  i^C^-j^b^, 
469-474.  5.  Excavations  and  discoveries  at  Nineveh:  Lavard,  A.  \i.,A'ine7'eh 
and  its  Remains.  6.  Assyrian  art:  Reinach,  S.,  Apollo,  pp.  23-27.  7.  A  royal 
hunting  adventure:  Maspkro,  M.,  Life  in  Aiuient  Egypt  and  Assyria,  chap.  xiv. 

Chapter  V.  i.  Israel  in  Egypt:  Pktrik,  \V.  M.  F.,  Egypt  and  Israel,  chap.  ii. 
2.  The  Song  of  Deborah  (judges  v)  :  Schmidt,  N.,  7//t>  Message  of  the  Poets, 
pp.  354-362.  3.  Some  Hebrew  laws  concerning  the  poor  and  the  bondsman  : 
Exod.  xxii,  25-27;  xxiii,  10;   Deut.  xv,  7-15;  xxiv,  6,  10-13. 

Chapter  VI.  i.  Phcenician  commerce  and  its  influence  upon  the  progress 
of  civilization:  Keller,  F.,  Colonization,  pp.  28-30,  38-39.  2.  The  Tyrian 
purple  dye:  Rawlinson,  G.,  The  Sto7y  of  Phanicia,  pp.  5,  6,  275-282.  3.  A 
Phoenician  adventure  —  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa:  Rawlinson,  G.,  7he 
Ston'  of  Pha'nicia,  chSip.xW.  4.  Croesus  and  Solon :  Herodotus,  i,  29-33  (retold 
in  Church,  Herodotus,  pp.  3-10). 

Chapter  VII.  i.  Persian  character  and  public  and  private  life:  Rawlin- 
son, G.,  Five  Great  Monarchies,  vol.  iii,  chap,  iii,  pp.  164-247.  2.  The  Royal 
Road  from  vSusa  to  Sardis :  Herodotus,  v,  52-54.  3.  The  Parsees,  the  modern 
representatives  of  the  ancient  fire-worshipers:  see  Encyc.  Brit.,  vol.  xx  (nth 
cd.),  under  ''  Parsees." 

Chapter  VIII.  i.  The  old  Chinese  civil-service  competition  examinations: 
Martin,  \V.  A.  P.,  The  Lore  of  Cathay,  chap,  xvii ;  Ddoi.ittle,  J.,  Sthial  I^ife 
of  the  Chinese,  chap,  xv-xvii.  2.  The  worship  of  ancestors  and  filial  piety : 
Martin,  W.  A.  P.,  The  Lore  of  Cathay,  chap,  xv  ;  Legge,  J.,  The  Religion  of 
China,  lect.  ii,  pp.  69-95;   Gile.S,  II.  A.,  7he  Civilization  of  China,  pp.  75-77. 

Chapter  IX.  1.  The  nature  and  features  of  the  land  as  factors  in  Greek 
life  and  history  :  Grdte,  G.,  Ilistoty  of  Greece,  vol.  ii,  pp.  153-157  ;  Holm,  \., 
History  of  Greece,  vol.  i,  pp.  29,  30;  Arboti,  E.,  Histoiy  of  Greece,  vol.  i, 
pp.  19-23;  RtiRY,  J.  B.,  Histoiy  of  Greece,  pp.  4,  5.  2.  The  marble  quarries  of 
Paros  :   Manatt,  J.  I.,  Aegean  Days,  chap,  xvii,  "  Paros  the  Marble  Island." 

Chapter  X.  i.  Tales  of  Crete — Minos,  Theseus,  and  Ariadne  :  Harrison, 
J.  A.,  The  Stoiy  of  Greece,  chap.  viii.  2.  Change  in  the  opinion  of  scholars  in 
regard  to  the  historical  elements  in  Cireek  legends  :  Haikie,  J.,  'I'he  Sea-kings 
of  Crete,  chap.  i.  3.  Summary  of  excavations  and  discoveries  in  Crete  :  Hall, 
H.  R.  II.,  yJigean  Archirology,c\\i\\i.  ii.  4.  The  palace  at  Cnossus :  Mos.so,  A., 
The  Palaces  of  Crete,  chaps,  iv,  v.  5.  .Vlgean  art:  Mosso,  A.,  The  Palaces  of 
Crete,  chap,  xiii ;    Hall,  H.  R.  H.,  .^gean  Anhtrology,  chap.  vii. 

Chapter  XI.  i.  Delphi  and  the  oracle:  Richardson,  R.  H.,  Vacation  Days 
in  Greece,  pp.  24-33.  '■  The  Olympic  Festival:  Gardiner,  E.  N.,  Greek  Ath- 
letic Sports  and  I'esti^mls,  chap,  ix ;  (Gardner,  P.,  Xew  Chapters  in  Greek  His- 
tory, chap.  ix.  3.  (jymnastics  :  Blumner,  H.,  'Ihc  Home  L.ife  of  the  Ancient 
6>«YX\f,  chap.  viii.  4.  Demeter  and  Persephone,  and  the  Eleusinian  mysteries: 
Frazer,  J.  G.,  Spirit  of  the  Coin  and  of  the  Wild  (The  Golden  liough),  vol.  i, 
chap,  ii ;  Fairhanks,  A.,  Mythology  of  Greece  and  Pome.  chap,  vi,  pp.  171-183; 
Gayley,  C.    M.,    Classic  Myths   (consult   index).     5.   The   Greek   doctrine  of 


APPENDIX  iii 

"divine  envy":  consult  Herodotus  (Kawlinson's  trans.)  by  index  under 
"  Croesus,"  "  Polycrates,"  and  "  Artabanus." 

Chapter  XII.  i.  Argos  and  King  Pheidon :  Holm,  A.,  History  of  Greece^ 
vol.  i,  chap,  xvii,  pp.  202-208;  Bury,  J.  B.,  History  of  G?rece,  chap,  iii, 
pp.  139-144.  2.  The  Helots  of  Laconia :  Thucydides,  iv,  80;  Plutarch, 
Lycttrgus,  xxvii ;    Gr(JTE,  History  of  Greece,  vol.  ii,  chap,  vi,  pp.   291-298. 

Chapter  XIII.  i.  The  trade  of  the  Pontus,  or  Euxine  :  Curtius,  E.,  His- 
toiy  of  Greece,  vol.  i,  pp.  439-441.  2.  Relations  of  a  colony  to  its  mother  city : 
CURTius,  E.,  History  of  Greece,  vol.  i,  pp.  496-500.  3.  The  Delphic  oracle 
and  Greek  colonization:  Herodotus,  iv,  150-153,  156-159;  Curtius,  E., 
History  of  Greece,  vol.  ii,  pp.  49,  50.  4.  Tales  of  the  tyrants  Cypselus, 
Polycrates,  and  Periander :  Herodotus  (consult  index). 

Chapter  XIV.  i.  The  environment  of  Athens:  Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in 
Ancient  Athens,  chap.  ii.  2.  Story  of  Solon  and  Croesus:  Plutarch,  Solon, 
xxvii,  xxviii.  3.  The  Council  and  the  Assembly  (Ecclesia)  :  Tucker,  T.  G., 
Life  in  Ancietit  At/tens,  chap.  xiii.  4.  Dwelling  houses:  Gulick,  C.  B.,  T/ie 
Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap.  iii.  5.  The  occupations  of  farming  and  herd- 
ing: Gulick,  C.  B.,  The  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap.  xvii.  6.  The  Athe- 
nian vase  trade  ("  One  of  the  most  interesting  phenomena  in  the  history  of 
ceramic  art  is  the  absorption  of  the  market  of  the  world  by  Attic  wares.")  : 
The  Annual  of  the  British  School  at  Athetis,  No.  xi,  pp.  224  ff.,  "  The  Distribu- 
tion of  Attic  Vases";  Fowler,  H.  N.,  and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek  Archirol- 

ogy^  pp-  47' -506. 

Chapter  XV.  i.  The  Delphic  oracle  given  the  Athenians  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Persian  War  :  Herodotus,  vii,  140-143.  2.  The  trireme  :  Gulick,  C.  B., 
The  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap,  xv,  pp.  199-205.  3.  Themistocles  in 
council  and  in  battle  at  Salamis :  Plutarch,   Themistocles,  xi-xv. 

Chapter  XVI.  i.  The  walls  of  Athens  and  the  Piraeus  :  Bury,  J.  B.,  History 
of  Greece,  pp.  330-332,  377.  2.  Aristides  the  Just;  his  ostracism:  Harriso.n, 
J.  A.,  The  Story  of  Greece,  pp.  317-321.  3.  The  public  buildings  of  Athens: 
Reinach,  S.,  Apollo,  chap,  vi ;  Fowler,  H.  N.,  and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek 
Archteology,  pp.  144-150,  155-157.  4-  "A  Day  in  Athens":  Tucker,  T.  G., 
Life  in  Ancient  Athens,  chaps,  vi,  vii;  BLii.MNER,  H.,  The  Liome  Life  of  the 
Ancient  Greeks,  chap,  v,  pp.  179-201.  5.  Trades  and  manufactures:  Gulick, 
C.  B.,  The  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap,  xviii,  pp.  227-238.  6.  Various  classes 
of  the  population:  Tucker,  T.  G.,  L.ife  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap.  iv.  7.  Civic 
duties  of  citizens:  Gulick,  C.  B.,  The  LJfe  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap.  xvi. 
8.  The  things  seen  in  a  walk  about  your  own  city  which  remind  you  of  the 
contributions  of  (Greece  to  our  civilization. 

Chapter  XVII.  i.  The  Athenian  army  and  navy:  Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in 
Ancient  Athens,  chap.  x.  2.  The  condemnation  of  the  .\thenian  generals  after 
the  battle  of  Arginusae  (406  u.c.) :  see  any  comprehensive  history  of  Greece. 
3.  "Festivals  and  the  Theaters":  Tuikek,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens, 
chap.  xii.  4.  "An  Athenian  trial":  Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens, 
chap.  xiv.  5.  The  trial  and  condemnation  of  Socrates:  Grote,  G.,  History 
of  Greece,  vol.  vii,  pp.   140-172. 


iv  APPENt)IX 

Chapter  XVIII.  i.  The  youth  and  training  of  Demosthenes:  Pickakp- 
Cambriuce,  a.  W.,  Demosthenes,  chap.  i.  2.  Imperiahsm  vs.  Home  Rule,  or, 
Was  Demosthenes'  policy  of  opposition  to  Philip  wise  .■"  Mahakky,  J.  P.,  Prob- 
lems in  Greek  Histojy,  chap,  vii,  "  Practical  Politics  in  the  Fourth  Century." 
3.  Alexander's  visit  to  the  oracle  of  Zeus  Ammon:  Wheeler,  B.  I.,  Alexan- 
der the  Great,  chap.  xxi.  4.  Alexander's  letter  to  Darius:  Bury,  J.  B.,  I/isto?y 
of  Greece,  pp.  761,  762.  5.  "The  Marriage  of  Europe  and  Asia":  Wheeler, 
B.  I.,  Alexander  the  Great,  chap,  xxx,  pp.  476-479. 

Chapter  XIX.  i.  The  Museum  and  Library  at  Alexandria:  Mahaffv,  J.  P., 
Greek  Life  and  Thought,  chap,  ix,  pp.  192-197.  2.  Rhodes  as  a  center  of  Hel- 
lenistic culture:  Holm,  A.,  History  of  Greece,  vol.  iv,  chap,  xxii ;  Mahakfv, 
J.  P.,  Stoiy  of  Alexandet's  Empire,  chap,  xx  (last  part).  3.  The  Stoics  and  the 
Epicureans  :  Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  Surrey  of  Greek  Civilization,  pp.  256-264.  4.  The 
Grove  of  Daphne  at  Antioch :  Lew  Wallace,  Ben  I/ur,  bk.  iv,  chaps,  v,  vi. 

Chapter  XX.  i.  Greek  art  as  a  reflection  of  Greek  history:  Gardner,  P., 
Principles  of  Greek  Art,  chap,  xix,  "  Art  in  Relation  to  History."  2.  Building 
material  and  methods:  Fowler,  H.  N.,  and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek  Anhu-ol- 
ogy,  chap,  ii,  pp.  96-108.  3.  The  Great  Altar  of  Zeus  Soter  at  Pergamum  : 
Reinach,  S.,  Apollo,  pp.  69,  70;  Fowler,  H.  N.,  and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek 
Archeology,  pp.  181-183,  284-286.  4.  Attic  art:  Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in 
Ancient  Athens,  chap.  xvi.  5.  Greek  painting  and  mosaic:  Fowler,  H.  N., 
and  Wheeler,  J.  R.,  Greek  Archaology,  chap,  ix ;  Gardner,  P.,  Principles  of 
Greek  .Irt,  chap.  xii. 

Chapter  XXI.  1.  Sappho:  Manatt,  J.  I.,  A'lgean  Days,  chap,  xxv,  "Les- 
bos and  the  Lesbian  Poets."  2.  Presentation  of  a  Greek  drama  at  Athens : 
Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap.  xii.  3.  Pindar:  Mahaffy,  J.  P., 
Survey  of  Greek  Ci~i)ili%ation,  pp.  91-96. 

Chapter  XXII.  i.  The  life  of  Socrates  :  Hoi'KIN.son,  L.  W.,  Greek  Leaders, 
pp.  79-101;  Leonard,  W.  E.,  Socrates:  Master  of  Life,  pp.  31-61.  2.  Ex- 
tempore declamations  by  the  Sophists :  Walden,  J.  W.  II.,  The  Universities 
of  Ancient  Greece,  chap.  xi. 

Chapter  XXIII.  1.  Greek  education:  Blumner,  H.,  J/ome  Life  of  the 
Ancient  Greeks,  chap,  iii ;  GULICK,  C.  \^.,  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap,  vii; 
Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap.  ix.  2.  Student  days:  Walden, 
J.  W.  H.,  The  Universities  of  Ancient  Greece,  chap.  xiv.  3.  Social  life  and 
entertainments:  Gv\.\cvi,C'B.,  Life  of  the  Ancient  6'/r<'X-.f,  chap,  xiv;  Tucker, 
T.  G.,  L^ife  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap.  vii.  4.  Greek  slavery:  Blumner,  H., 
Home  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,  chap.  xv.  5.  Funeral  customs:  Tucker, 
T.  G.,   L.ife  in  Ancient  Athens,  chap.  xv. 

Chapter  XXIV.  i.  Geographical  conditions  tending  to  make  the  history  of 
Italy  different  from  that  of  Greece:  Freeman,  E.  A.,  Historical  Geography 
of  Europe,  vol.  i  (text),  pp.  7-9.  2.  "While  the  Grecian  peninsula  is  turned 
towards  the  east,  the  Italian  is  turned  towards  the  west"  (Mommsen);  show 
the  influence  of  this  geographical  fact  on  the  history  of  each  land. 

Chapter  XXV.  i.  The  family  cult  and  ihe  patria potestas :  Johnston,  II.  W., 
The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans,  pp.  28-32  ;  WiLKlNS,  A.  S.,  Roman  Antiqiiitjes, 


APPENDIX  V 

chap.  iii.  2.  The  Roman  character :  Wilkins,  A.  S.,  Roman  Antiquities,  chap.  i. 
3.  The  position  of  women  :  Johnston,  H.  W.,  The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans, 
pp.  64-66.  4.  Prehistoric  Rome  :  Lanciani,  R.,  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Light  of 
Recent  Discoveries,  chap,  ii,  "  The  Foundation  and  Prehistoric  Life  of  Rome." 

Chapter  XXVI.  i.  Legend  of  the  Fabii :  Livy,  ii,  48,  49.  2.  Virtues  prized 
by  the  early  Romans  as  shown  by  the  stories  of  their  heroes  (Mucius  Scaevola, 
Cincinnatus,  Lucius  Junius  Brutus,  Marcus  Curtius,  etc.) :  find  these  tales  by 
use  of  the  indexes  of  available  histories. 

Chapter  XXVII.  i.  Was  the  action  of  the  Roman  Senate  in  the  affair  of  the 
Caudine  Forks  honorable?  Livy,  ix,  2-1 1  ;  How,  W.  \V.,  and  Leigh,  H.  D., 
History  of  Rome,  pp.  108-1 10.  2.  Tales  of  the  Pyrrhic  War:  Plutarch,  Pyn-hus. 
3.  The  system  employed  by  the  Roman  engineers  in  tunneling  mountains : 
L.VNCI.ANI,   R.,  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Light  of  Recent  Discove7-ies,  pp.  61-62. 

Chapter  XXVIII.  i.  Hannibal's  passage  of  the  Alps:  Polybius,  iii,  50-56. 
2.  The  battle  of  the  Metaurus  (207  B.C.):  Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of 
the  World,  chap.  iv.  3.  Change  effected  in  Roman  life  and  manners  through 
contact  with  corrupt  Hellenism  :  Mommsen,  T.,  vol.  ii,  bk.  iii,  chap,  xiii, 
pp.  480-491;  Plutarch,  J/«;r«j  Cato;  Seignobos,  C.  (Wilde  ed.),  Histo>y  of 
Ancient  Civilization,  chap.  xxii. 

Chapter  XXIX.  i.  Roman  slavery:  Johnston,  H.  W.,  The  Private  Life 
of  the  Ro»tans,  chap,  v,  pp.  87-1 11.  2.  Marcus  Livius  Drusus,  the  champion  of 
the  Italians  :  consult  by  index  any  comprehensive  history  of  Rome.  3.  Cicero 
and  his  friends  as  admirers  of  things  Greek :  Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  The  Greek  World 
under  Roman  Sway,  chap.  vi.  4.  The  conspiracy  of  Catiline:  Church,  A.  J., 
Roman  Life  in  the  Days  of  Cicero,  chap.  vii.  5.  Causes  of  the  fall  of  the 
Republic :  How,  W.  W.,  and  Leigh,  H.  D.,  Histoty  of  Rome,  chap,  xxxi ; 
Seignobos,  C.  (Wilde  ed.).  History  of  Ancient  Civilization,  pp.  274-278. 

Chapter  XXX.  i.  The  significance  of  the  defeat  of  V^arus  by  the  Germans 
under  Arminius,  A.D.  9:  Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  chap.  v. 

2.  The  life  of  the  court  under  the  early  Empire:  Friedlander,  L.,  Roman 
Life  and  Manners,  vol.  i,  pp.  70-97.  3.  Means  of  communication  :  Fried- 
lander,  L.,  Roman  Life  and  Manneis,  vol.  i,  pp.  268-322  ;  Davis,  W.  S.,  The 
Infhtoice  of  Wealth  in  Imperial  Rome,  pp.  80-105. 

Chapter  XXXI.  i.  Pompeii  and  what  we  have  learned  of  Roman  life  from 
its  remains:  Mau,  A.,  Pompeii:  its  Life  and  Art.  2.  Letters,  books,  and  libra- 
ries: Johnston,  II.  W.,  The  Private  IJfe  of  the  Romans,  pp.  287-298.  3.  An 
election  campaign  in  Pompeii :  Abbott,  F.  F.,  Society  and  Politics  in  Ancient 
Rome,  pp.  3-21.  4.  The  Hadrian  Wall  in  Britain:  Bruce,  J.  C,  The  Roman 
Wall.  5.  The  spread  of  Christianity  in  the  first  two  centuries  :  Friedlander, 
L.,  Roman  Life  and  Manners,  vol.  iii,  chap,  ii,  pp.  186-214.  6.  The  cata- 
combs: Lanciani,  R.,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  chap.  vii.  7.  Zenobia, 
"Queen  of  the  East":  Wright,  W.,  An  Account  of  Palmyra  and  Zenobia. 

Chapter  XXXII.  i.  Motives  underlying  the  Diocletian  persecution  of  the 
Christians:  Mason,  A.  J.,  The  Persecution  of  Diocletian,  chap.  iii.  2.  The 
Council  of  Nicaea:   Carr,  A.,   The  Church  and  the  Roman  Empire,  chap.  v. 

3.  The  founding  of  Constantinople  :   Oman,  C.  W.  C,  The  Byzantine  Empire, 


vi  APPENDIX 

pp.  13-30.  4.  Julian  and  the  pagan  restoration:  (akr.  .A.,  I'lie  C/itnc/i  and 
the  Roman  Empire,  chap,  vii ;  (i.\Kl)NER,  h..,  Julian  the  IViilosof-her,  and  the 
last  Stn(ggle  of  Paganism  against  Christianity.  5.  Efforts  of  Diocletian  to  fix 
prices  of  provisions  and  wares:  Ahhott,  Y.  F.,  The  Common  People  of  Ancient 
Rome,  pp.  145-17S. 

Chapter  XXXIII.  i.  Alaric  the  (ioth  :  Hr.adley,  H.,  'J he  Goths,  chap,  x, 
pp.  <S.t-9>S.  2.  St.  Jerome:  Cakr,  A.,  The  Church  and  the  Roman  Empire, 
chap.  xiv.  3.  St.  Augustine  and  his  City  of  God;  Carr,  A.,  The  Church  and 
the  Roman  Empire,  chap,  xv ;  Cutis,  K.  L.,  Saint  Augustine,  chap,  xx, 
pp.  184-194;  Dill,  S.,  Roman  Society  in  the  Last  Century  of  the  IVesterti  Em- 
pire, pp.  59-73.  4-  Causes  of  the  downfall  of  the  Empire  in  the  West:  Hooc- 
KiN,  Seelky,  and  Bury,  as  cited  above  in  '"  References,"  p.  232;  Davis,  W.  S., 
The  Itifliieiicc  of  Wealth  in  Imperial  Rome,  chap.  viii. 

Chapter  XXXIV.  i.  Roman  art:  Reinach,  S.,  Apollo,  pp.  87-94.  2.  Edu- 
cation of  the  Roman  boy:  Johnston,  H*.  \V.,  The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans, 
chap.  iv.  3.  The  gladiatorial  combats:  Jon. \s ion,  H.  W.,  The  Prii'ate  Life  of 
the  Romans,  pp.  242-264  ;  Frieui.ANDER,  L.,  Roman  Life  and  Manners,  vol.  ii, 
chap,  i,  pp.  41-62.  4.  Roman  luxury:  FRiEr>i,ANi)ER,  L.,  Roman  Life  and 
Manners,  vol.  ii,  chap,  ii ;  Davis,  W.  S.,  'J he  Influence  of  Wealth  in  Imperial 
Rome,  pp.  152-187.  5.  Character  and  motives  of  Roman  benefactions: 
Ahhoit.    F.    F..    The   Common   People  of  Ancient  Rome,  pp.    179-204. 

Chapters  XXXV  and  XXXVI.  i.  Life  and  work  of  Cassiodorus;  his  state 
papers:  IIodokin,  T.,  Iheodoric,  chap,  ix,  pp.  160-173.  -•  ^he  German  con- 
quest of  Gaul :   Adams,  G.  B.,   'The  Gnnvth  of  the  Erench  A'ation,  chap.  ii. 

Chapter  XXXVII.  i.  The  religion  of  the  Germans  and  their  conversion: 
Seig.nohos,  C,  History  of  Mediieral  and  Modern  Civilization,  chap.  ii.  2.  The 
scriptorium  and  the  labors  of  the  monks  as  copyists,  chroniclers,  and  authors : 
Putnam,  G.  II.,  Books  and  their  Makers  during  the  Middle  Ages,  vol.  i,  pp.  3-81 . 
3.  The  monasteries  as  industrial  colonies:  Cunningham,  W.,  Western  Civilisa- 
tion {Mcdiicval  and  Modern   Times),  pp.  35-40. 

Chapter  XXXVIII.  i.  The  spread  of  the  Latin  speech  and  the  formation 
of  the  Romance  languages:  Abbott,  F.  F.,  The  Common  People  of  Ancient 
Rome,  pp.  3-31.  2.  The  contribution  made  by  the  Germans  to  civilization: 
Adams,  G.  B.,  Civilization  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  v.  3.  The  influence 
of  the  Roman  law  upon  the  law  systems  of  Europe:  IIadi.EY,  ].,  Introduction 
to  Roman  La-,o,  Icct.  ii. 

Chapter  XXXIX.  i.  Justinian  as  a  builder;  St.  Sophia:  Oman,  C.  W.  C, 
The  Byzantine  Empire,  chap,  viii,  pp.  106-111  ;  Gibbon,  E.,  Decline  and  Eall, 
chap,  xl  (consult  table  of  contents).  2.  Introduction  into  Europe  of  the  silk 
industry:  Gibbon,  E.,  Decline  and  Eall,  chap,  xl  (consult  table  of  contents). 
3.  The  Hippodrome  and  the  "Blues'*  and  the  "Greens":  Oman,  C.  W.  C, 
The  Byzantine  Empire,  chap,  ii,  pp.  22-25  !  ^hap.  vi,  pp.  75-80  ;  MuNRO,  D.  C, 
and  Si' 1. 1. FRY.  (i.  C,  Meditrval  Ciinlization,  pp.  87-113. 

Chapter  XL.  i.  Mohammed:  C\k\.\\.v.,T.,  Heroes  and  Hero-worship, \tci.'\\, 
"The  Hero  as  Prophet."  2.  Some  teachings  of  Islam  :  Gilman,  A.,  The  Saracens, 
chap.  XV ;  Seignobos,  C.,  History  of  Mediari'al and  Modem  Civilization,  chap.  iv. 


APPENDIX  vii 

Chapter  XLI.  i.  Charlemagne  and  his  court:  Davis,  H.  W.  C,  CharU- 
magiii:,  chap.  x.  2.  A  letter  of  Charlemagne  summoning  an  abbot  with  his 
men  to  a  general  assembly  :  Oc;g,  Y .  A.,  A  Source  Book  of  Alediarvai  I/isloiy, 
pp.  141-144.  3.  Alcuin  and  the  Palace  School:  \Ve.st,  A.  ¥.,Alcuifi  and  the 
Rise  of  the  Christian  Schools,  chap.  iii.  4.  The  import  of  the  restoration  of 
the  Empire:  Bryce,  J.,  The  Holy  Roman  Empire  (Sth  ed.),  chaps,  iv,  v,  xxi 
(a  subject  for  the  advanced  student).  5.  The  things  needed  to  be  done, 
which  Charlemagne  did:  Ad.\MS,  G.  B.,  Civilization  timing  the  Middle  Ages, 
pp.  154-169. 

Chapter  XLII.  i.  Voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  America:  P'iske,  J.,  The 
Discovery  of  America,  vol.  i,  chap.  ii.  2.  The  siege  of  Paris  by  the  Northmen  : 
Ogg,  F.  a.,  ^  Source  Book  of  Mediceval  Histoiy,  pp.  1 68-171.  3.  Rollo  (Rolf)  : 
Jewett,  S.  O.,  Story  of  the  A'orthmen,  chap.  ii.  4.  Alfred's  interest  in  learning  • 
Ogc,  F.  a.,  a  Source  Book  of  Medicez'al  History,  pp.  1S5-195;  Colby,  C.  W., 
Selections,  pp.  19-22. 

Chapter  XLIII.  i.  Life  on  a  mediaeval  English  manor,  or  vill :  Chevnev, 
E.  P.,  Industrial  and  Social  Histoiy  of  England,  chap.  ii.  2.  The  open-field 
system  of  cultivation:  Seeuohm,  F.,  The  English  Ullage  Community,  chap.  i. 
3.  The  spirit  of  knight-errantry:  Cutis,  E.  L.,  Scenes  and  Characters  of  the 
Middle  Age.,  pp.  353-368. 

Chapter  XLIV.  i.  Effects  on  England  of  the  Norman  Conquest:  Free- 
man, E.  A.,  The  A'orman  Conquest,  chap.  xiv.  2.  Life  in  the  manor  house  : 
Traill,  IL  D.  (ed.),  Social  England,  vol.  i,  pp.  375-382.  3.  Why  the  battle  of 
Hastings  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  history:  Creasy,  E.  S., 
Decisii'e  Battles  of  the  World,  chap.  vii. 

Chapter  XLV.  i.  The  monastery  of  Cluny :  Munro,  D.  C,  and  Sellerv, 
G.  C,  Mediceval  Civilization,  pp.  137-152.  2.  The  strife  over  investitures: 
Seig.nubos,  C,  History'  of  Mediceval  and  Modern  Civilization,  pp.  105-109. 
3.  Emperor  (elect)  Henry  IV  at  Canossa :  Stei-HENS,  W.  K.  W.,  Hildebrand 
and  his   'Jimes,  pp.  126-132. 

Chapter  XLVL  i.  The  speech  of  Pope  Urban  II  at  the  Council  of  Cler- 
mont :  Ogg,  F.  a.,  A  Source  Book  of  Mediaeval  History,  pp.  284-288.  2.  Saint 
Bernard  and  his  preaching  of  the  Second  Crusade  :  MoRisoN,  J.  C,  The  Life 
and  Times  of  St.  Bernard,  pp.  415-428.  3.  Stories  from  the  Crusades  which 
formed  material  for  literature:  Munro,  1).  C,  and  Sellerv,  G.  C,  Mediin^al 
Civilization,  pp.  269-276. 

Chapter  XLVIL  1.  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  and  the  world  into  which  he 
came:  Jessopi",  \.,  The  Coming  of  the  Friars,  pp.  2-23.  2.  St.  Dominic  and 
the  F"riars  in  England:  JessoI'P,  A.,  The  Coming  of  the  Friars,  pp.  23-52. 
3.  The  quarrel  between  Pope  Boniface  VIII  and  Philip  the  Fair  of  France: 
Emekton,  K.,   The  Beginnings  of  Modern  Europe,  pp.  116-123. 

Chapter  XLVIII.  1.  Marco  Polo  at  the  Mongol  court:  Brooks,  N.,  The 
Story  of  Marco  Tolo,  pp.  111-162.  2.  The  Janizaries:  Oman,  C.  W.  C,  The 
Byzantine  Empire,  pp.  324,  325;  Creasy,  E.  S.,  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks, 
vol.  i,  pp.  21-24,  '61.  3.  The  conquest  of  Constantinople:  Oman,  C.  W.  C, 
The  Byzantine  Empire.,  pp.  343-350;  GiBBON,  E.,  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  Ixviii. 


viii  APPENDIX 

Chapter  XLIX.  i.  The  gilds  in  English  towns :  Cheyney,  E.  P.,  An  Intro- 
ditction  to  the  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  pp.  59-73.  2.  City  life 
in  Germany:  MuNRO,  D.  C,  and  Sellery,  G.  C,  Mediteval  Civilization, 
pp.  358-365.  3.  The  Hanseatic  League:  Henderson,  E.  F.,  A  Short  IJistory 
of  Gennany  {1902  cd.),  vol.  i,  pp.  189-202. 

Chapter  L.  i.  The  "  Nations"  at  the  universities  :  (io^\VK\\i.t,G.,  Abelard, 
pp.  96-107.  2.  Student  life:  Munro,  D.  C,  and  Sellery,  G.  C,  Medinn'al 
Civilization,  pp.  348-357  ;  CoMPAYR^,  G.,  Abelard,  pp.  263-279.  3.  The 
teachers.  Comi'.\yr6,  G.,  Abelard,  pp.  279-2S6. 

Chapter  LI.  1.  The  Black  Death:  Hecker,  J.  F.  C,  The  F.pidemics  of  the- 
Middle  Ai^es,  chaps,  i-vi ;  Green,  J.  R.,  History  of  the  English  reople,  vol.  i, 
pp.  428-433  (for  effects  of  the  plague  in  England).  2.  The  fall  of  Granada: 
PrESCOTT,  \V.  IE,  History  of  the  Keign  of  Ferditiafid  and  Isabella,  Part  I, 
chap.  XV ;  or  Irving,  \V.,  7he  Conquest  of  Gra>iada.  3.  Savonarola,  the  burn- 
ing of  the  "vanities":  Cl.ark,  \V.,  Savonarola,  chap.  xv.  4.  Introduction  of 
trial  by  torture  in  the  later  mediaeval  period:  Seignohos,  C.,  History  of 
Mediirval  and  Modem    Civilization,  pp.   215-220. 

Chapter  LII.  i.  The  mediaeval  feeling  for  nature:  McLaughlin,  E.  T., 
Studies  iu  Media-val  Life  and  Literature,  pp.  1-33.  2.  Petrarch's  ascent  of 
Mount  Ventoux:   Rohinson,  J.  H.,  and  Rolke,  II.  \V.,  Petrarch,  pp.  307-320. 

3.  Dante  and  his  Divine  Comedy:  Lowell,  J.  R.,  Among  my  liooks  (Second 
Series),  pp.  1-26.  4.  The  new  feeling  for  the  ruins  of  Rome:  Burckhardt,  J., 
The  Civilization  of  the  A'enaissance  in  Italy,  pp.  177-1S6;  Symonhs,  J.  A.,  The 
Ke'i'ii'al  of  Learning,  pp.  142-157.  5.  Aldus  Manutius  and  the  Aldine  Press: 
Putnam,  G.  H.,  Books  and  their  Makers,  vol.  i,  pp.  417-440. 

Chapter  LIII.  1.  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator:  Boirne,  E.  G.,  Essays  in 
Historical  Criticism,  Essay  No.  6.  2.  The  civilization  of  the  Aztecs  :  Eiske,  J., 
The  Discovety  of  America,  vol.  ii,  chap,  viii,  pp.  215-239.  3.  The  civilization 
of  the  Peruvians:  Eiske,  J.,  77ie  Discovety  of  America,  vol.  ii,  chap,  ix ; 
Winsor.  J.,   A'arrative  and  Critical  Histoty  of  America,  vol.  i,  chap.  iv. 

Chapter  LIV.  1.  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms  :  Veduer,  H.  G.,  The  Refor- 
mation in  Germany,  pp.  137-164;  Freytag,  G.,  Martin  Lnther,  pp.  50-59. 
2.  Erasmus  at  Oxford:  Seebohm,  F.,  The  Oxford  Reformers,  pp!  94-116; 
Emerton,  E.,  Desiderius  Erasmus,  chap.  iii.  3.  The  Counter-Reformation: 
Seignohos,    C,   History  of  Mediaval  and  Modem    Civilization,   chap.    xxi. 

4.  Luther  and  the  German  ^Bible  :  Smith,  P.,  The  Life  and  Letters  of  Martin 
Luther,  chap,  xxiii. 

Chapter  LV.  1.  The  abdication  of  Charles  the  Fifth:  Prescott,  W..  His- 
toiy  of  the  Reign  of  Philip  the  Second,  vol.  i,  chap,  i;  Mo'iLEY,  J.  I-.,  The  Rise 
of  the  Dutch  Republic,  vol.  i,  chap.  i.  2.  Causes  of  Philip's  failure:  Hume, 
W.  A.  S.,  Philip  II  of  Spain,  pp.  1-6.  3.  Results  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Mf)risros  from    Spain:   Lea,   H.  C,    7he  Moriscos  of  Spain,  pp.  394-401. 

Chapter  LVL  i.  Sir  Thomas  More  and  his  romance  ^Vr/^/Vz :  Seehohm,  F., 
The  Oxford  Reformers,  pp.  346-365.  2.  The  fall  of  Wolsey  :  Creighton,  M., 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  chap.  x.  3.  Thomas  Cromwell  and  the  "  ICnglish  Terror": 
Green,  J.    IL,   History  of  the  English  People,  vol.   ii,   pp.    164-191. 


Appendix  ix 

Chapter  LVII.  i.  vSand  dunes,  dikes,  and  "polders"  of  the  Low  Counlries: 
see  Encyc.  />nt.,  nth  ed.,  under  " Holland."  2.  The  image-breakers:  Motley, 
J.  Lt  7'ke  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Kepublic,  vol.  i,  pp.  551-576.  3.  How  the  seven- 
teen provinces  were  divided  into  two  groups  and  the  basis  was  laid  of 
present-day  Holland  and  Belgium:  Harrison,  Y.,  William  the  Silent,  chap,  xi, 
pp.  195-202. 

Chapter  LVIII.  i.  Henry  IV's  renunciation  of  the  Huguenot  faith:  Wii.- 
LEKT,  P.  F.,  Henry  of  Navarre,  pp.  256-265.  2.  The  "  Grand  Design  "  :  Mkad, 
E.  D.,  The  Great  Design  of  Henry  IV.  3.  Settlements  of  Huguenots  in  Brazil 
and  Florida:  Parkman,  F.,  Piotieers  of  France  in  the  A'e-io  World,  pp.  9-179. 

Chapter  LIX.  i.  Condition  of  Germany  at  the  end  of  the  war:  Gardi.nek, 
S.  R.,  The  77iiriy  Years'  War,  pp.  217-221.  2.  Hugo  Grotius :  White,  A.  D., 
Seven  Gi-eat  Statesmen,  pp.  55-110.  3.  Some  results  of  the  Reformation: 
Seehohm,   F.,    The  Era  of  the  Protestant  Kevoliition,  pp.  218-233. 

Chapter  LX.  i.  Emperor  Joseph  II  as  a  benevolent  despot:  Bright,  J.  F., 
foseph  II,  chaps,  iv-ix  ;  SeignoKOS,  C.,  History  of  Contemporary  Civilization, 
pp.  76-80.  2.  Ideas  of  King  James  I  on  the  royal  power:  Lee,  G.  C,  Source- 
Book  of  English  Histoty,  pp.  337,  338. 

Chapter  LXI.  i.  The  "  Assiento":  Moses,  B.,  Establishment  of  the  Spanish 
Rule  in  America,  chap.  xi.  2.  France  in  America  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV:  FlSKE,  J.,  A"e7v  Etigland  and  iVezu  E'rance,  chap.  iv.  3.  Life  at  court: 
Seigxchos,  C,  History  of  Mediceval  and  Modern  Civilization,  pp.  351-356; 
Taine,   H.  a.,    The  Ancient  Regime  (trans,  by  J.   Durand),  pp.  86-122. 

Chapter  LXII.  i.  The  character  and  traits  of  James  I :  Henderson,  E.  F., 
Side  Lights  on  English  History,  pp.  33-42.  2.  Trial  and  execution  of  Charles  I : 
Henderson,  E.  F.,  Side  Lights  on  English  History,  pp.  85-92-.  3.  The  Irish 
"  Cromwellian  Settlement":  Prendergast,  J.  P.,  Cromicellian  Settlement  of 
Ireland.  4.  Did  Cromwell  desire  to  be  king:  Lee,  G.  C,  Source-Book  of  Eng- 
lish Ilistor}',  pp.  389-392. 

Chapter  LXIII.  i.  Why  the  battle  of  Poltava  (Pultowa)  is  given  a  place 
among  the  decisive  battles  of  history:  Creasy,  E.  S.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the 
World.,  chap.  xii.  2.  The  founding  of  St.  Petersburg:  Ramuaud,  A.,  History 
of  Russia,  vol.  ii,  pp.  101-105.  3.  Introduction  of  Western  civilization  into 
Russia:   Seignohos,  C,   History  of  Co7ttemporary   Civilization,  pp.    17-2S. 

Chapter  LXIV.  i.  The  Teutonic  Knights  and  the  beginnings  of  Prussia: 
Hender-Son,  I*',,  v..  Short  History  of  Germany  (ed.  1902),  vol.  i.  chap,  viii, 
pp.  172-181.  2.  Frederick  the  Great's  boyhood,  character,  and  political  phi- 
losophy: Marriott,  J.  A.  R.,  and  Roijert.soN,  C.  G.,  The  Involution  of  Prussia, 
chap,  iv,  pp.  II 3-1 19.  3.  Frederick  the  Great  as  an  Enlightened  Despot: 
15oiiRNE,  II.   E.,    The  Re7'olutionary  Period  in  Europe,   chap,  iv,  pp.  48-51. 

Chapter  LXV.  i.  The  industrial  revolution  in  England:  Bourne,  H.  E.. 
The  Revolutionary  Period  in  Eurvpe,  chap.  vi.  2.  The  struggle  between  Eng- 
land and  France  for  colonial  supremacy:  Seignohos,  C,  History  of  Contem- 
porary Civilization,  pp.  42-46.  3.  Extract  from  speech  of  Earl  Chatham  on 
England's  policy  toward  the  American  colonies:  Ki.nuai.i.,  E.  K.,  Source- 
Book  of  English   History,  pp.  350-354. 


X  appp:ndix 

Chapter  LXVI.  i.  What  the  term  Ancioii  Kegitne  stands  for:  Seignohos, 
C,  Uiilory  of  Conteniporaiy  Civilization.,  pp.  92-106.  2.  Life  in  Paris  under 
the  Reign  of  Terror:  Stephens,  H.  M.,  History  of  the  French  Revolution, 
vol.  X,  chap,  ii,  pp.  343-361.  3.  "The  Reign  of  Terror  as  a  political  experi- 
ment": Mathews,  Sh.vii.kr,  The  French  Revolution,  chap.  xvi. 

Chapter  LXVII.  i.  The  sale  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States:  Roose- 
velt, Theodore,  The  Winning  of  the  West  (1905-1908  ed.),  vol.  iv,  pp.  1S4- 
212;  GiLMxVN,  D.  Q,.,  fames  Monroe  (American  Statesmen),  pp.  74-93;  llos- 
MER,  J.  K.,  History  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  2.  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena: 
Lord    Rosehery,   Xapoleon  :  the  Last  Phase. 

Chapter  LXVIII.  i.  Prince  Metternich  and  Napoleon:  Maleeson,  G.  B., 
Life  of  Priiice  Metternich,  chap.  ix.  2.  The  theory  of  absolutism  and  the  theory 
of  constitutionalism  in  1815  :  Seig.nohos,  C,  I/isto?y  of  Conieinporaiy  Civiliza- 
tion, pp.  204-207. 

Chapter  LXIX.  i.  The  Dreyfus  case:  Hazen,  C.  D.,  Mo<lc7-n  Fnropean 
Histojy,  pp.  396-400.  2.  The  separation  of  Church  and  State :  Hazen,  C.  1)., 
Modern  European  LListory.,  pp.  400-403.  3.  Part  taken  by  France  in  nineteenth- 
century    progress  :     Seignobos,    C,    Histo)y   of   Contemporary    Civilization, 

pp.  437-441- 

Chapter  LXX.  i.  Irish  pro])lems  — church,  land,  and  Home  Rule:  Lavele, 
C.  F.,  and  Payne,  C.  E.,  Jmpenal  J-ingland,  chap.  xiii.  2.  Factory  legislation 
regulating  the  employment  of  children  and  women:  Chevnev,  E.  P.,  An 
IntrOiluction  to  the  Industrial  and  Social  Histoiy  of  Ent^land,  pp.  244-260. 
3.  Darwin,  and  the  establishment  of  the  theory  of  evolution  ("  one  of  the 
greatest,  if  not  the  greatest  scientific  achievement  of  the  nineteenth  century") : 
\V.\EEACE,  A.  R.,  The  Wonderful  Cent  my,  chap.  xiii. 

Chapter  LXXI.  i.  The  political  reaction  in  Italy  and  Count  Cavour: 
\\  iiiri,,  .\.  1).,  .ScTcn  Crcat  Statesmen,  pp.  319-3S8.  2.  The  alliance  between 
Italy  and  I'rance  :    Latimer,  E.  vV.,  Italy  in  the  Alneteenth   Century,  chap.  x. 

Chapter  LXXH.  i.  The  Prussian  three-class  system  of  voting:  Hazen, 
C.  D.,  Modern  European  Ilistoiy,  pp.  31 1-3 12.  2.  The  Frankfort  Parliament 
and  the  results  of  its  failure  :  Marriott,  J.  A.  R.,  and  Rcjhertson,  C.  G.,  The 
Evolution  of  Prussia,  pp.  322-327.  3.  The  Ems  telegram  —  the  altered  dis- 
patch which  precipitated  the  Franco-German  War:  Marriott,  J.  A.  R.,  and 
Robertson,  C.  G.,  The  Evolution  of  Pntssia,  pp.  362-366.  4.  "  Dropping  the 
Pilot"  (Bismarck's  dismissal  by  the  Kaiser):  The  Kaiser  vs.  Bismarck  (the 
third  volume  of  Bismarck's  Reminiscences),  chap.  viii. 

Chapter  LXXHI.  i.  The  Russian  Mir  and  the  effects  upon  the  serfs  of  the 
emancipation  measure:  Waet.ACE,  D.  M.,  Russia  (new  ed.,  1905)  (consult 
table  of  contents).  2.  Siberia  and  the  exile  system  :  Kennan,  G.,  Sihcria  and 
the  Exile  System,  Noht.E,  E.,  Russia  and  the  Russians,  chap.  xi. 

Chapter  LXXIV.  i.  Definitions  of  Socialism:  Iu,Y,  R.  T.,  Socialism  and 
Social  A'cforni.  ( hajj.  iii.  2.  liolshevik  theory  and  practice:  Sparoo,  J.,  Bol- 
shciisiii :    The  /-.iicmy  of  Political  and  Industrial  Democracy,  chap.  vii. 

Chapter  LXXV.  i.  Resume  of  the  history  of  the  lost  colonial  Empires 
of  the  earlier  modern  period:   Lord,  W.  F.,  The  Lost  Empires  of  the  Modern 


APPENDIX  xi 

JFor/,/.  2.  The  relation  of  the  later  European  expansion  to  the  new  industry : 
Mi:iK,  R.,  yVie  Expatision  of  Europe,  pp.  145-149.  3.  Algeria  and  Tunis: 
GiunoNs,  II.  A.,  llie  iVew  Map  of  Africa,  chap.  vii.  4.  The  economic  resources 
of  South  Africa:   Bryce,  J.,  Impressions  of  South  Africa,  chap,  x.xvi. 

Chapter  LXXVI.  i.  What  was  accomplished  for  world  organization  by  the 
First  and  Second  Hague  Conferences:  Hull,  \V.  I.,  T/ie  lu'o  I/ague  Confer- 
euces,  pp.  496-5C0.  2.  National  versus  world  sovereignty  :  Bridgman,  R.  L., 
World  Organizaiio)i,  chap.  ii.  3.  The  international  movement  between  the 
Second  Hague  Peace  Conference  (1907)  and  the  Peace  Conference  at  Paris 
(1919):  Pollock,  Sir  Frederick,  The  League  of  Nations,  chap,  iv,  "The 
League  in  Sight." 

Chapter  LXXVII.  i.  The  war  aims  of  Germany  as  formulated  by  prom- 
inent German  leaders:  Seymour,  C,  The  Diplomatic  Background  of  the  M'a/; 
chap.  V,"  German  World  Policy :  Moral  Factors";  Grumk.a.ch,  S.,  Getinanv's 
Annexationist  Aims  (trans,  by  J.  Ellis  Barker),  chap,  vii,  "Germany's  General 
War  Aims."  2.  The  relation  of  the  Berlin-Bagdad  Railway  to  the  World 
War:  J.\STRO\v,  M.,  The  War  and  the  Bagdad  Railway.  3.  The  Russian  Revo- 
lution of  191 7  :  Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Russian  Bolshevik  Re7<oltdion  ;  Turner,  E.  R., 
Europe,  i'j8()-ig2o,  part  ii,  chap.  xiii.  4.  Australia's  effort  in  the  war  :  Simonds, 
F.  H.,  History  of  the  World  War,  vol.  v,  pp.  402-408.  5.  The  Paris  Peace 
Conference  at  work  :  Haskins,  C.  H.,  and  Lord,  R.  H.,  Some  Problems  of  the 
Peace  Conference,  pp.  3-35,  "  Tasks  and  Methods  of  the  Conference."  6.  Epi- 
logue:  Simonds,  F.  II.,  History  of  the  World  War,    vol.  v,  pp.  383-387. 


INDEX  AND   PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY 


Note.  In  the  case  of  words  whose  correct  pronunciation  has  not  seemed 
to  be  clearly  indicated  by  their  accentuation  and  syllabication,  the  sounds  of 
the  letters  have  been  denoted  thus  :  a,  like  a  in  gray ;  a,  like  <i,  only  less  pro- 
longed;  a,  like  a  in  have;  a,  like  a  in  Jar;  a,  like  a  in  a//;  e,  like  ee  in  meet; 
e,  like  e,  only  less  prolonged ;  e,  like  e  in  hid;  e,  like  e  in  there;  e,  like  e  in 
err;  J,  like  i  in  pine ;  i,  like  /  in  pin  ;  o,  like  o  in  note ;  6,  like  o,  only  less  pro- 
longed ;  o,  like  o  in  not ;  o,  like  o  in  di-b  ;  oo,  like  <v  in  moon  ;  06,  like  00  in 
y<^'(?/ ;  u,  like  11  in  ?7j^  ;  u,  like  the  French  // ;  ae  and  ce  have  the  same  sound 
as  e  would  have  in  the  same  position ;  c  and  ch,  like  h ;  9,  like  s ;  g,  like 
g'  \r\ge/;  g,  likey;  s,  like  z;  ch,  as  in  German  aeh  ;  K  (small  capital)  like<r/i  in  Ger- 
man /ch  ;  n,  like  ;//  in  iniriion;  n  denotes  the  nasal  sound  in  French,  being 
similar  to  ng  in  song. 


Ab'e  lard,  Peter,  338 
Abraham,  Hebrew  patriarch,  35 
Abu  Bekr  (a'boo  bek'r),  first  caliph, 

273  n.  I 
Ab  ys  sin'ia,  635 
A  ehas'a,  Roman  province,  117 
A  chas'an  League,  116 
A  ehae'ans,  56 
A  ehil'les,  60 
Acre  (ji'ker),  540 
Acropolis,  the,  at  Athens,  79 
Ac'ti  um  (ak'shium),  battle  of,  198 
A  dri  an  o'ple.  Treaty  of,  621 
-E  ge'an  civilization,  the    term,  how 

used,  57  n.  i.    See  Contents 
-Egean  Sea,  islands  in,  55 
AL  gos  pot'ami,  capture  of  Athenian 

fleet  at,  103 
i^  o'li  ans,  the,  56 
-E'o  lus,  65  n.  I 
-l-Vqui  ans,  161 
.F.s'chy  lus,  tragic  poet,  130 
.1^  to'li  an  League,  116 
Afghan  War,  first,  639 
A  frii  sT  ab',   328  n.  i 
Africa,  Portuguese  exploration  of,  372; 

partition  of,  635;   English  in,  640 ; 

French  in,  642;    Germans  in,  645 
Africa,    North,   recovery   of,   by  Jus- 
tinian,   251  ;    conquest    of,   by    the 

Arabs,   273 
Ag  a  mem'non,  60 
Agincourl  (a  zhafi  kbor'),  battle  of,  346 


Ah'ri  man,  46 

A  hu'rJi  Miiz'da.    See  Ormazd 
Aisne  (an),  river,  700 
Aix-la-Chapelle         (aks  la  sha  pel'). 

Treaty  of  (174S),  496 
Al'a  ric,  first  invasion  of  Italy,  225; 

wrings    ransom    from   Rome,    226 ; 

sacks  the  city,  226  ;  death,  227 
Albert,  archbishop  of  Mainz,  385 
Albert,  king  of  the  Belgians,  refuses 

German    demand    for    passage    of 

troops,  676 
Albert  of  ISrandenburg,  390  n.  2 
Albert  the  Great,  Schoolman.  33S 
Al  bi  gen'ses,  crusades  against,  315 
Al  9i  bi'a  dcs,  loi,  102,  103 
Alcuin  (al'kwin),  280 
Aldine  Press,  at  \'enice,  367 
Alexander  the  Great,  109-114 
Alexander  I,  Tsar,  551 
Alexander  II,  620  n.  2 
Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  112 
Alexandrian  Age,  literature  of,  132 
Alexandrian  Library,  118 
Alfred  the  Great,  king  of  England,  2S4 

n.  I 
Algeria,  643 

Ali  (ii'le),  caliph,  273  n.  t 
Allenby,  British  general,  695 
Al'li  a,  battle  of  the,  1(14 
Almansur  (ill  man  soor'),  caliph,  275 
Alphabet,  the  Semitic,  origin  of,  10; 

disseminated  by  the  Phoenicians,  41 


XIV 


INDEX 


Al  phe'us,  river,  54 

Al  sace'     (Ger.     El'sass),     ceded     to 

Germany   (1871),  577  ;  restored    to 

France,  707 
Alva,  duke  of,  430 
Ambrose,  bishop,  223 
Amiens  (a  me  an').  Treaty  of,  544 
Amphitheaters,  shows  of,  240-242 
Am'y  tis,  33  n.  i 
A  nab'a  sis,  132 

A  na'cre  on  or  A  nac're  on,  1 2S 
An  ax  ag'o  ras,  135 
Ancestor   worship,    among    the   Ro- 
mans, 150 
Anchorites,  257 
Andalusia    (an  da  lu'she  a),  origin  of 

the  name,  227 
Anglo-Saxons,    conquest    of    Britain, 

228.     See  E)i gland  _ 

Angro     Mainyus     (an'gromln'yobs). 

See  Ahrimaii 
Anjou  (ohzhoo'),  French  province,  34 1 
Annates,  387  n.  i ;  Act  of,  413 
Anti-Semitism,  579  n.  i 
An  to  ni'nus   I'i'us,    Roman  emperor, 

211 
Antony  of  Bourbon,  king  of  Navarre, 

436 
Antony,  Mark,  the  triumvir,  iijf),  197, 

'99 

Antwerp,  Spanish  fury  at,  431 

A  perie§,  Greek  painter,  126 

Ap'en  nine§,  147 

Aph'ro  di'te,  goddess,  65 

Apis,  sacred  ICgyptian  bull,  19 

A  poc'ry  pha,  38 

A  pol'lo,  his  oracle  at  Delphi,  65 

Appian  Way.    See  ]'ia  Appia 

Apulia,  146 

Aqueducts,  Roman,  234 

A  qui'nas,  Thomas,  338 

Arabian  Xiglits,  276 

Arabic  system  of  notation,  276  n.  i 

Arabs,  249,  27  i .  See  Mohamiitcilanisin 

Aragon,  union  with  Castile,  355 

Ar  be'la,  battle  of,  1 12 

Ar  ca'di  a,  geography  of,  53 

Ar  ca'di  ans,  53 

Ar  ca'di  us,  Roman  emperor  of  the 
Fast,  224 

Archi  me'des,  the  mathematician,  140 

Architecture,  Egyptian,  22 ;  Greek, 
1 1 9- 1 26;  Roman,  233-235;  medi- 
aeval, 33)  n.  t 


Archons  at  Athens,  79 

A  re  op'a  gus,  council  of  the,  79 

Ar'go  lis,  description  of,  53 

Ar'go  nauts,  the,  59 

Argonne  (argon')  Forest,  the,  700 

Ar  is  tar'chus,  the  astronomer,  140 

Ar  is  ll'des.  87,  88 

A  ris'ti  on,  stele  of,  123 

A  ris  to  gl'ton,  Athenian  tyrannicide,  • 

82 
Ar  is  toph'a  nes,  comic  poet,  131 
Ar'is  tot  le,  life  and  works,  137 
Ar'i  us,  220  n.  2 
Ar  ma'dii.  Invincible,  424 
Armageddon     (iir  ma  ged'on),    battle 

of,  695 
Armenia,  709  n.  i. 
Ar  min'i  us,  203 
Armistice   (of    November    11,    1918), 

695,  696 
Ar'y  ans,  14 
As'pern,  battle  of,  554 
Assassination,  political,  432  n.  i 
As  sT  en'to,  the,  502 
Assignats      (as'ig  nats ;      Fr.      pron. 

a  se  na'),  524  n.  i 
Assuan  (as  swan'),  642 
Assyrian  I'.mpire,  rise  of,  26;   political 

history,  29,  30;  civilization,  31,  32 
Astrology  among  the  Babylonians,  28 
Astronomy  among  the  Egyptians,  22  ; 

among  the  Babylonians,  29 
As  tu'rl  as,  the,  355 
Atahualpa  (a  tii  wiil'pa),  3S0 
Athanasius,  (ath  a  na'shi  us),  220  n.  2 
A  the'na,  goddess,  65 
Athenian  I'^mpire,  92-97 
Athens,  history  of,  \\\)  to  the  Persian 

Wars,  79-84  ;  her  fall  (404  I{.c.),i03 
A'thos  or  Ath'os,  Mount,  86 
Attainder,  bill  of,  470  n.  i 
Attica,  79 
At'ti  la,  229 

Auersliidt  (ou'er  stet),  battle  of,  550 
Au'fi  dus,  river,  176 
Augsburg,  ( "onfession,  402  n.  i ;  Relig- 
ious I'eace  of,  402 
Augurs,  College  of,  156 
Au'gus  tine,  his  mission  to  ]?ritain,  255 
Augustine,  St.    See  St.  Auginthic 
Augustus  Caesar.    See  Octm'iui 
Au  re'li  us,  Marcus,  Roman  emperor, 

reign,  211  ;  his  Mcilitations,  21 1 
Aiisglcich  (ous'gllK),  617 


INDEX 


XV 


Aus'pi  ces,  taking  of  the,  156 
Austerlitz  (ous'ter  lits),  battle  of,  549 
Australasia,  637  n.  2 
Australia,  Commonwealth  of,  638 
Austria,   under  jNIaria  Theresa,  496; 

gains  at  Congress  of  Vienna,  56S ; 

in     Austro-Hungarian     monarchy, 

617-619 
Austria-IIungary,  from  1866  to  1914, 

617-619;  in  the  World  War,  674, 

681,  683,  695 
Austrian  Succession,  War  of,  496 
Austro-Sardinian  War,  598 
Aitto-da-fe   (a  to  da  fa'),   the,   356;    at 

Valladolid,  429 
Avignon  (a  venyoh'),  322 
A'zov,  Russians  capture,  486 
Aztecs,  379 

Ba'ber,  founder  of  Mongol  state  in 

India,  326 
Babylon,  rise  of,  26  ;  fall  of,  34 
Babylonian  Empire,  political  history, 

26  ;  civilization,  27-29 
Bacon,  Francis,  427,  465 
Bacon,  Roger,  339 
Bactria,  conquest  of,   by   Alexander, 

"3 

Bagdad,    founded,  274 ;    captured  by 

British  in  World  War,  692 
Bill  a  klii'va,  622 
Bal  bo'ji,  Vasco  de,  380  n.  i 
Balkan  Wars  (1912-1913),  the,  673 
Balliol  (bal'i  ol),  John,  Scottish  king, 

344  _ 

Baluchistan  (bal  00  chTs  tan'),  113 
Ban'nock  burn,  battle  of,  344 
Barca.    See  HarniUar 
Barebone,  Praise-God,  475 
Barrage  (bar'raj  ^^rbar  raj'),  mine,  laid 

in  North  Sea,  705 
Bastille  (bas  tel'),  storming  of  the,  521 
Batavian    Republic    (this    had    been 
created  in  1795),  made  into  king- 
dom of  Holland,  547 
Baths.    See  ThernuT 
Bautzen  (bout'sen),  battle  of,  561 
Bavaria  is  made  a  kingdom,  549 
Bayeux  (ba  ye)  Tapestry,  298  n.  I 
Bii  zaine',  Marshal,  576 
Bede  (bed),  the  Venerable,  255  n.  i 
Bchistun  (ba  hTs  toon')  Rock,  43 
Beirut    (ba  root'),     captured     by    the 
British,  695 


Belgium,  431  ;  war  of  Louis  XIV 
concerning,  455  ;  ceded  to  Austria, 
458;  in  kingdom  of  Netherlands, 
568;  independent  kingdom,  574; 
violated  by  Germany,  676,  677-679 

Bel  1  sa'ri  us,  general,  268 

lielleau  (bel  16')  Wood,  697 

Bel  ler'o phon,  the,  563 

Benedetti  (ba  na  det'te),  613 

Benedictines,  order  of  the,  258 

Benevolences,  409 

Beresina  (her  e  ze'na),  river,  560 

Ber'gen,  331 

l!er  lin'  (Ger.  pron.  ber  len'),  Decree, 
552;  Treaty  of  (187S),  623 

Berlin-Bagdad  Railway,  665 

Bernard.    See  St.  Bernard 

Bernstorff  (bern'shtorf),  German  am- 
bassador, 687 

Bes  sa  ra'bi  a,  ceded  to  Russia.  62  3  n.  2 

Bethmann-Hollweg  (bet'man-hol'veg ; 
Ger.  pron.  bat'man-hol'vak),  Ger- 
man Chancellor,  676,  677 

Bible,  Luther's,  389;  King  James', 
465 

ISishops'  War,  468 

Bis'marck,  Otto  von,  608,  616 

Black  Death,  346 

Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  506  n.  i 

Blucher  (blu'Ker),  563 

Boeotia  (be  6'shi  a),  52 

Boers  (boorz),  640,  641 

Bohemia,  in  Thirty  Years'  War,  442 

Boleyn,  Anne  (bool'in),  411,  413 

Bologna  (b5  lon'ya).  University  of,  335 

Bolsheviki  (bol  she  vc  ke'),  the,  629 

Bonaparte.  ^q&  Jerome,  Josef /i,  Louis, 
iVapoleon 

Bordeau.x  (bor  do'),  679 

Borodino  (bor  o  de'no),  battle  of,  559 

Iiorromeo  (bor  ro  ma'6),  Carlo,  393 

Bos'ni  a,  administered  by  Austria- 
Hungary,  623  ;  the  Bosnian  crisis  of 
I 90S,  671 

Bosphorus  (bos'fo  rus),  the,  74 

Bossuet  (bo  sii  a'),  460  n.  i 

]?osworth  Field,  battle  of,  349 

Bot'tii,  M.,  31 

Boulogne  (boo  Ion'),  camp  of,  548 

iiourbon.  House  of,  accession  in 
]•■  ranee,  43S ;  in  Spain,  45S  ;  re- 
stored in  France,  561  ;  heirs  ex- 
pelled from  France,  578 

Boxer  uprising,  650 


XVI 


INDEX 


Boyne,  battle  of  the,  484 

Hrah'ma,  48 

Hrahmans,  48 

Brandenburg,  electorate  of,  493 

Brazil,  Portuguese  royal  family  flee  to, 

553 
Bren'nus,  Gallic  leader,  i()4 
Brest- Litovsk  (brest  le  tovsk').  Treaty 

of.  693  n.  I 
Bretigny  (bre  ten  yi').  Treaty  of,  346 

n.  I 
Bright,  John,  5S3  n.  i 
Britain,  Anglo-Saxon  conquest  of,  252. 

See  Ell  gin  II  li 
British  navy  in  the  World  War,  702 
Bru'ges  (Fr.  pron.  briizh),  331 
Brii  maire',  Revolution  of,  541 
Brunelleschi  (brob  nel  les'ke),  368  n.  2 
Bruno.  Giordano,  394 
Brut'ti  um,  146 
Brutus,  Marcus,  196 
Buddha  (bood'ha),  48 
]5uddhism,  48,  49 
Bulgaria,    623    n.  2 ;    in    the    Balkan 

Wars,  673 ;    treaty  with  the  Allies 

(1919).  709  n.  I 
liundesrath  (boon'des  riit),  the,  614 
Bunyan,  John,  479 
Burghley  (bur  li).  Lord,  421 
Bu  sen  ti'nus,  river,  227 
Byron,  Lord,  620  n.  i 
Byzantine  Lmpire.    See  Eastern  Em- 
pire 
Byzantium   (bi  zan'shT  um),   founding 

of,  74.   See  Constantinople 

Cabinet,  English,  503 

Cab'ot,  John,  409 

Cad'mus,  58 

Caesar,  Augustus.    See  Octavius 

Caesar,  Gaius  Julius,  190,  191-196 

Caesarion  (se  za're  on),  198 

Ca /tiers  (ka  ya'),  518 

('a  la'bri  a,  146 

Calais  (kal'iss),  348 

Calendar,  Kgyptian,  23  ;   Babylonian, 

29;  Julian,  195;  Gregorian,  195  n.  i ; 

French   Revolutionary,  533 
Caliphate  of  Bagdad,  274,  275 
Calvin,  John,  at  Geneva,   392 
Calvinists,  392 

Cam  ba  lu',  Mongol  capital,  325 
f'ambrftnne  (koh  bron'),  563  n.  i 
Gam  bu'ni  an  Mountains,  54 


Cam  by'ses,  43 

Campagna  (kam  pan'ya),  234 

Cam  pa'ni  a,  146 

Campo  Formio  (kiim  po  for'me  o), 
Treaty  of,  539 

Campus  Martius  (mar'shi  us),  158 

Canada,  ceded  to  England,  506;  Do- 
minion of,  636;  part  in  the  World 
War,  701,  702 

Can'nae,  battle  of,  176 

Cii  nos'sa,  307 

Can  ta'bri  a.  355 

Cantigny  (koh  ten  ye'),  697  n.  i 

Ca  nute',  king  of  England,  284 

Cap'i  to  line  hill,  154 

Ca'pre  ae,  island.  206 

Carnegie  (kar  na'gi),  Andrew,  658  n.  i 

Caro  lin'gi  an  family,  beginning  of,  252 

Carthage,  172.    See  Punic  Wars 

Cartwright,  509 

Cassiterides  (kas  i  ter'i  dez)  40  n.  i 

Cas'si  us,  Gaius,  conspirator,  196 

Caste,  Hindu  system  of,  47 

Castile  (kas  tel'),  the  name,  355  ;  union 
with  Aragon,  355 

Catacombs,  217 

Cathay  (kath  a').    See  China 

Catherine  de'  Medici  (de  ma'de  che), 

435-  436 
Catherine  II  the  Great,  reign,  490-492 
Catholic  Emancipation  Act,  587 
Catholic  Reaction,  391 
Cat  i  li'na,  Lu'ci  us  Ser'gi  us,  190 
Catiline.    See  Catiliiia 
Cato,  Marcus  Porcius,  the  Censor,  179 
Ca  tul'lus,  poet,  235 
Cavaliers,  47 1 

Cavour  (kii  voor').  Count,  597,  598,600 
Cayster  (ka  is'tcr),  river,  42 
Cecil,  William.    .See  Fuii^hley 
(Je  cro'pi  a,  nucleus  of  Athens,  58 
(."e'crops,  58 
Celts,  at  opening  of  the  Middle  Ages, 

248;  Christianity  among,  255,  256 
-Cha?r  o  nc'a.  battle  of,  1 10 
■Chal  9i<ri  (,c.  the  name,  74 
4."har<^is,  colonics  of,  74 
-Ghaldasan  Empire,  33 
Chalons  (shii  Ion'),  battle  of,  229 
Champagne  (sh.im  pan'),  700 
Champollion  (sham  pol'i  on),  19 
C'hannel  ports,  struggle  for,  in  World 

War,  679 
Cha'res.  Greek  sculptor,  125 


INDEX 


XVI 1 


Charlemagne  (sharie  man),  king  of 
Franks,  277-280 

Charles  I,  king  of  England,  reign, 
466-472 

Charles  II,  reign,  480 

Charles  VII,  king  of  France,  347 

Charles  IX,  436 

Charles  X,  573 

Charles  V,  Emperor  H.  K.  E.,  com- 
missions Magellan,  376;  at  Diet  of 
Worms,  388  ;  reign,  399-403 

Charles  II,  king  of  Spain,  458 

Charles  XII,  king  of  Sweden,  488, 490 

Charles  Martel,  274 

Charles  the  Simple,  king  of  the 
Western  Franks,  285 

Chartism,  583 

Chateau-Thierry  (sha  to'te  ar  re'),  699 

Chatham.    See  Pitt 

Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  350 

-Che'ops,  16 

Chev'i  ot  (crchiv'iot)  Hills,  410  n.  i 

China,  early  history,  49-51  ;  question 
of  partition  of,  648  ;  war  with  Japan, 

649  ;  in  process  of  dismemberment, 

650  ;  Boxer  uprising,  650 
Chinese,  writing,  49;    literature,   50; 

competitive  examinations,  51 
■Ghi'os,  island,  55 
Chivali-y,  294-297 
Christ,  birth,  204  ;  crucifixion,  206 
Christian  IV,  king  of  Denmark,  443 
Christianity,  made  in  effect  state  re- 
ligion by  Constantine,  219;  effects 
upon,  of  imperial  patronage,  220; 
one  of  the  most  vital  elements  in 
the  Empire,  222  ;  heresy  and  idola- 
try suppressed  by  Theodosius  and 
Gratian,  223  ;  influence  in  suppress- 
ing the  gladiatorial  combats,   225; 
as  factor  in  mediieval  history,  248  ; 
introduced    among    the    Teutonic 
tribes,  254-256;  in  French  Revolu- 
tion, abolished,  533.   See  Christians 
Christians,     persecution     of,     under 
Nero,  207  ;  under  Marcus  Aurelius, 
211  ;  motives  of  these  persecutions, 
211;    persecutions    under    Diocle- 
tian, 217  ;  status  under  Julian,  221 
Chronicle,  Anglo-Saxon,  284  n.  i 
Church,    early   constitution    of,    259; 
separation  of  the  Eastern  from  the 
Western  or  Latin  Church,  262,  263. 
See  Papacy 


Church  Councils:  Council  of  Nicaea, 

220 ;  of  Trent,  392 ;  Vatican,  602  n.  i 
Cicero,  Marcus  Tullius,  First  Oration 

against  Catiline,   190 ;    proscribed, 

197  ;  as  an  orator,  236 
Cimon,  son  of  Miltiades,  94 
Cin  cin  na'tus,  legend  of,  161 
Circus,  games  of  the,  240 
Cisalpine  Republic,  539,  541,  547 
Citizenship,    Roman,    privileges    of, 

1 53 ;  demanded  by  the  Italians,  184 ; 

secured  by  them  as  result  of  the 

Social  War,  184;  Caesar's  liberality 

in  conferring  upon  provincials,  195 
City-state,  the  Greek,  62,  63 ;  Rome 

as  a,  152 
Civil  War  (1642-1649),  in   England, 

470-472 
Clan.    See  Gens 
-Clarkson,  Thomas,  508 
Clemenceau  (Eng.  pron.  clem  en  so'), 

French  Premier,  705 
Cleopatra,  198  n.  2,  199  n.  i 
Clients,   dependents   of   the    Roman 

family,  151 
Clis'the  nes,  reforms  of,  83 
Clive,  Robert,  506 
Clo'vis,  king  of  the  Franks,  252 
Cnossus  (nos'us),  Cretan  city,  59 
Cobden,  Richard,  583  n.  i 
Codes:   Justinian   Code,   238;    Code 

Napoleon,  545 
Col'et,  John,  408 
Coligny,  Gaspard  de  (ko  len  ye').  436, 

437 
Colonies,  Greek,  73-76;    Latin,   170. 
171;   Roman.  170;   European,  378, 

634 
Co  los  se'um,  233 
Colossus  of  Rhodes.  725  n.  i 
Columbus,  Christopher,  373 
Co  vii'ti  a  ci-iitiiriata,  158 
Comitia  ciiriata,  I  52 
Co  mt'ti  ii»i,  I  57 
Commons,  English  House  of,  origin, 

343.    See  1^1  Hi  a  III  cut,  Eiii^lish 
Commonwealth  of  England,  472-475 
Compass,  invention  of,  371  n.  2 
Con  cor'dat,  French,  of  1801,  544 
Confederation  of  the  Rhine.  549 
Confucius,  Chinese  sage,  50 
Congo  Free  State,  635 
Con'stan  tine  the  Great,  reign,  218- 


XVI 11 


INDEX 


Constantine  VI,  Eastern  emperor,  27S 
Constantinople,    founded.    220;    be- 
sieged by  Saracens,  274  ;  captured 
by    crusaders,    312;    by    Ottoman 
Turks,  327 
Constituent  Assembly,  French,  520- 

525 
Consuls,  Roman,  first.  1 59 
"  Contemptibles."  the,  680  n.  2 
Continental  Blockade.  552 
Conventicle  Act,  480 
Cook,  James,  Captain,  637 
Co  per'ni  cus,  Nicholas,  371  n.  i 
Cor  cy'ra,  island,  55 
Cordeliers   (Eng.  pron.  kor  de  lers'), 

club,  525 
Cor'do  va,  276 
Cor  fin'i  um,  184 

Corinth,  destroyed  by  Romans,  117 
Corinthia,  description  of,  53 
Corn,  free  distribution  of,  at  Rome, 

243 
Corn  Laws,  English,  repealed,  583  n.  i 

Corneille  (kor  nay'),  460 

Cor  ne'li  a,  mother  of  the  (Jracchi,  183 

Cor'piis  Ju'ris  Civi'lis,  238 

Cortes  (.Span.  pron.  kortas'),  Her- 
nando, 379 

Coup  tfpjai  (koo  da  ta'),  of  IJrumaire, 
541  ;   I-ouis  Napoleon's,  575 

Covenanters,  468 

Cranmer,  Thomas,  419 

Crassus,  Marcus  Licinius,  191,  192 

Crecy  (kres'i),  battle  of,  345 

Crete,  in  Oreck  legend,  55,  58 

Crimea,  war  in,  621 

Croe'sus,  king  of  Lydia,  43 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  471,  473-477 

Cromwell,  Richard,  477 

Cromwell,  Thomas,  412 

Crusades,  309-317 

Cuneiform  writing,  27 

Curfew,  the,  301 

Curia,  in  early  Rome,  152 

Customs  Union,  derman,  606 

Cuzco  (kooz'ko),  381 

Qyc'la  des,  the,  55 

Cyclopes  (si  klo'pez),  the,  65  n.  i 

(^yn'ics,  the,  139  n.  i 

Cyprus,  ceded  to  England,  r)23 

Qyr  e  na'i  ca,  76,  673 

(^y  re'ne,  76 

(["yrus  the  Great,  34,  42 

^yrus  the  Younger,  105 


Czechoslovakia    (chek'o  slo  vak'i  a), 

709  n.  I 
Czechs  (cheKs  crcheks),  618 

Dacia,  210 

Danes.    See  Scandinavians 
Dante,  Alighieri  (a  le  ge  a' re),  364 
Dan'ton  (Fr.  pron.  doii  ton'),  534 
Danzig  (dant'siK),  made  a  free  city, 

707 
Dardanelles  (dJir  da  nelz'),  attempt  to 

force  by  Anglo-French  fleet  (191 5), 

684 
Darius    I,    43 ;    expeditions     against 

Greece,  86 
Darnley,  Henry  Stuart,  Lord,  423 
David,  king  of  Hebrews,  36 
De  cem'virs,  162-164 
Declaration  of  Rights  (English),  48 1, 

4S2 
Declaration    of  the    Rights    of    Man 

(French),  523 
Delhi  (del'e),  326 
De'los,  Confederacy  of,  92 
Delos,  island,  55 
Delphi,  temple  at,  120 
Delphian  oracle,  the,  65;  its  services 

in  Greek  colonization,  74  n.  i  ;  mes- 
sage to  the  Athenians  at  time   of 

I'ersian    Wars,   90 ;     oracle    given 

Spartans  at  beginning  of  Pelopon- 

nesian  War,  98 
Demarcation,  Papal  Line  of,  375 
Demosthenes,  110,  132 
Denmark,  in  Thirty  Years'  War,  442 
Descartes  (da  kiirt'),  460  n.  i 
Des  i  de'ri  us,  king  of  Lombards,  277 
Dias  (de'as),  Bartholomew,  372 
Di  cas'ter  ies,  Athenian,   description 

of,  95 
Dictator,  Roman,  his  powers,  159 
Diocle'tian,    Roman    emperor,   215- 

218 
DT  og'  e  nes,  the  Cynic,  139  n.  i 
Diony'sust    65  n.  i  ;     Theater   of,    at 

Athens,  122 
Disestablishment  of  State  Church,  in 

Ireland,    5S8  ;    in  Wales,   5S9  n.  i  ; 

proposed  in  England  and  Scotland, 

589 
Disraeli  (dizra'lT),  589 
Divina  Comntciiia  (de  ve'na  kom  ma'- 

dea),  364 
Divination,  155 


INDEX 


XIX 


Divine  right  of  kings,  the  theory, 
449;  its  history,  450;  opinion  of 
James  I  on,  462  ;  opinion  of  Louis 
XIV  on,  453  ;  opinion  of  Emperor 
WilHam  II  on,  661 

Doge  (doj),  333 

Domesday  Book  (doomz'da),  300 

Domesticat^ion  of  animals,  S  ;  of 
plants,  9 

Dominicans,  order  of  the,  320 

Dorians,  conquer  the  Peloponnesus, 
69 

Draco,  his  code,  80 

Dragonnades  (drag  o  nadz'),  436 

Drake,  Francis,  425 

Drama,  the  Attic,  origin  of,  129 

Dra  vid'i  ans,  47  n.  2 

Drcilnind  (dri'boont),  615 

Dreyfus  (drafiis').  Captain,  579  n.  i 

Drogheda  (droch'e  da),  473 

Dual  Alliance,  the,  57S  n.  2 

Duma,  Russian,  626 

Dunajec  (doo  nii'yets),  battle  of  the, 
68 1  n. 4 

Dunbar,  battle  of,  474 

Dutch.    See  Nethcrlamh 

Dutch  colonies,  at  the  Cape,  640 ;  in 
East  Indies,  640  n.  i 

East  India  ("ompany,  English,  506, 639 

Eastern  Empire,  268-270 

Ebro  (a'bro),  river,  554 

Ec  cle'si  a,  at  Athens,  79 

Edda,  The,  283  n.  i 

Edict,  of  Nantes,  439;  revoked,  456; 
of  Grace,  440 

Education,  (  hinese,  51  ;  Creek,  141  ; 
Roman,  239  ;  at  Sparta,  7  i 

Edward,  the  Confessor,  king  of  Eng- 
land, 284 

Edward  I,  344 

Edward  VI,  417 

Eg'bert,  king  of  Wessex,  253 

Egypt,  political  history,  15-18;  civi- 
lization, iS-23;  under  the  Ptole- 
mies, 117;  I'^ngland  in,  642  ;  becomes 
a  Pritish  protectorate,  642  n.  2 

Elba,  561 

Elbe  (elb  ;  Ger.  pron.  el'be),  ri\cr,  \\G 

Elgin  (el'gin).  Lord,  124  n.  i 

E'lis,  description  of,  54 

Elizabeth,  queen  of  ICngland,  reign, 
420-427 

Elizabeth,  tsaritsa,  497 


Ems  telegram,  the,  613 

England,  origin  of  name,  252  ;  Anglo- 
Saxon  conquest,  252  ;  Danish  con- 
quest, 284  ;  Norman  conquest  and 
rule,  298-302  ;  under  the  houses  of 
Plantagenet,  Lancaster,  and  \'ork, 
341-349.    See  Contents 

English  colonies,  under  Elizabeth,  42  5 ; 
under  James  I,  464  ;  in  Seven  Vears' 
War,  505  ;  in  American  Revolution, 
506 ;  at  close  of  nineteenth  century, 
634.  636-642 

Enlightened  despotism,  theory  of,  452 

E  pam  i  non'das,  107,  108 

Eph  i  al'tes,  Greek  traitor,  89 

Eph'ors,  the,  at  Sparta,  70 

Ep  ic  te'tus,  the  Stoic,  237 

Ep  i  cu'rus,  139 

E  pT'rus,  district  of,  52 

E  ras'mus,  Desiderius,  408 

Eridu  (a'ri  dob),  city,  25 

Erinyes  (e  rin'Iez),  the,  65  n.  i 

Eritrea  (a  re  tra'a),  643  n.  i 

.Eschenbach  (esh'en  bach),  Wolfram 
of,  358  n.  I 

Estates-General.    See  Slates- General 

li  tru'ri  a,  146 

E  trus'cans,  147,  148 

Eu  boe'a,  island,  55 

Eu'clid,  the  mathematician,  139 

Eumenides  (u  men'i  dez),  the,  65  n.  i 

Euphrates,  valley  of  the,  24 

Eu  rip'i  des,  tragic  poet,  130 

Eu  ro'tas,  river,  54 

Euxine  Sea  (uk'sin),  Greek  colonies 
on,  75 

Excommunication,  effects  of,  306 

Eylau  (I'lou),  battle  of,  551 

Fabius  Maximus,    Quintus,  "  the    I  )c- 

layer,"  174,  175 
Factory  Acts,  English,  5S3  n.  i 
Falkland  (fok'land)  Islands,  German 

squadron  destroyed  at,  703  n.  2 
Family,  the  Roman,  150,  151 
Fasces  (fas'sez),  the,  152 
Fashoda     (fa  sho'dii)     incident,     the, 

644  n.  I 
Fenclon  (fan  lori').  -|6o  n.  i 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  355 
Fetiales.    See  Heralds 
Feudalism,  286-294 
l''ield  of  Cloth  of  Gold,  401  n.  i 
I'irdusi  (fer  doo'se),  32S 


XX 


INDEX 


l'"irc,  origin  of  its  use,  7 

Fire-worshipers,  46 

Fiodden  Field,  battle  of,  410  n.  i 

Foch  (fosh),  Marshal,  694 

Forum,  Roman,  in  time  of  the  kings, 

'57 
France,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  351-355- 

See  Contents 
Francis    I,  king  of  France,  400-402 
Francis  II,  435 

Francis  II,  Emperor  11.  R.  E.,  makes 
Treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  539 ;  as 
Francis  I,  emperor  of  Austria,  549 
Francis  II,  king  of  Two  Sicilies,  600 
Francis   Ferdinand,  Austrian  Crown 

Prince,  assassinated,  674 
P^ranciscans,  order  of  the,  320 
Franco-Prussian  War,  576,  612 
Frankfort  (Ger.  Frankfurt),  Treaty  of 
(1871),  577;  Constituent  Assembly 
at,  608  n.  2 
Franks,  form  first  settlement  in  Caul, 
227  ;  under  the  Merovingians,  252  ; 
their  conversion,  254 
Frederick  IV,  king  of  Denmark,  489 
Frederick    I,     Barbarossa,    P^mperor 
II.  R.  E.,    in   Third    Crusade,   311, 
312;    quarrel    with    Pope    Alexan- 
der III,  318 
Frederick  (III)  I,  king  of  Prussia,  493 
P'rederick  II,  the  Great,  495-500 
Frederick  the  Wise,  elector  of  Sax- 
ony, 389 
Frederick  William,  Great  Elector  of 

lirandcnburg,  493 
I'rcdcrick  William  I,  king  of  Prussia, 

494 
Frederick  William  III,  campaign  of 

Jena,  666 
I'rederick  William  IV,  607,  608 
French  and  Indian  War.    See  Snvn 

]'i-(irs'  lV(ir 
P'riedland  (fretTant),  battle  of,  551 
P'roissart  (frwa  sar'),  354 

Ga'dej,  40 

Ga  le'ri  us,  Roman  emperor,  218 

Gal'li  a   Cis  al  pi'na,   origin  of  name, 

146 
Gji'mri,  Vasco  da,  374 
Garibaldi  (ga  re  biil'de),  sketch  of  life, 

598  ;   in  Sicily  and  Naples,  600 
Gaul,  conquest  of,  by  Caesar,  191.  See 

Gauls 


Gauls  sack  Rome,  164 

Gau'ta  ma.    See  J!iu/,f/itt 

Ge  dro'si  a,  113 

Geiseric    (gi'zer  ik),    Vandal    leader, 
.  230 

Gens  (clan),  the,  in  early  Rome,  152 

George  I,  king  of  England,  503 

George  II,  503 

(ieorge  III,  503 

German  Confederation,  604-611 

German  East  Africa,  645 

German  Empire,  New,  formed,  613  ; 
history  of,  up  to  World  War,  613- 
617;  transformed  into  a  republic, 
696  n.  2.    See  UorU  IF.ir 

German  imperialism,  662 

German  Southwest  Africa,  645 

German  tribes.    See  Teutons 

Germany,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  357  ; 
from  the  Congress  of  Vienna  to 
the  proclamation  of  the  New  Ger- 
man Empire,  604-613.  See  Holy 
Roman  Empire  and  German  Empire, 
iVew 

Ghent,  Pacification  of,  431 

(]hiberti  (gc  ber'te),  sculptor,  368  n.  2 

Gibraltar,  4 58 

Gideon,  Hebrew  judge,  35 

Gilds,  mediaeval,  329 

Girondins  (ji  ron'dinz),  in  Legislative 
Assembly,  525;  execution  of,  531, 

532 

Gladiatorial  combats,  given  by  Augus- 
tus, 203;  their  suppression,  225; 
attitude  of  C'hristians  toward,  225; 
general  description  of  the  shows, 
240-242 

Gladiators,  war  of  the,  188 

Gladstone,  William  P'.wart,  585,   591, 

592 
Godfrey  (god'frT)of  I'>ouillon(b(j()y6n  ), 

310 
Goethe  (ge'tc),  558  n.  1. 
Gordian  knot,  1 1 1  n.  1 
Goths,  l",astern.    See  Ostrof^oths 
Goths.  Western.    See  Visigoths 
Grac'chus,  Gaius,  183 
Gracchus,  Tiberius,  182,  183 
Gra  nii'da,  conquest  of,  355 
Grand    Alliance,    of    1689,    457;    of 

1701,  458 
Grand  Design  of  Henry  IV,  439  n.  i 
Gra  ni'cus,  battle  of.  11 1  • 
Gravclotte  (grav  lot'),  battle  of,  576 


INDEX 


XXI 


Great   Britain,   the   name,    502.     See 

England 
Great  Moguls,  the,  326 
Great  Schism,  the,  322  n.  2 
Great  Wall,  the  Chinese,  51  n.  2 
Grecian  games,  influence  of,  67 
Greece,    geography    of,    52-56 ;     in 

modern  times,  620  n.  i,  621  n.  i 
Greek  Empire.    See  Eastern  Empi7-e 
Greeks,  their  legends,  57-61  ;  inheri- 
tance of,  62-68.    See  Hellenes 
Greenland,  discovered  by  the  North- 
men, 2S3 
Grotius  (grd'shi  us),  Hugo,  447 
Guadalquivir  (gwa  dal  ke  ver'),  river, 

275 
Guillotine,  the,  532 
Guiscard  (ges  kar'),  Robert,  298  n.  i 
Guizot  (ge  z5'),  574 
Gunpowder,  effects  of  use  in  war,  293 
Gustavus  II,  Adolphus,  king  of  .Swe- 
den, 443,  444 
Gutenberg  (goo'ten  berk),  John,  367 
Gy  lip'pus,  Spartan  general,  102 

Hades  (ha'dez),  64 

Hadrian,  Roman  emperor,  reign,  210 

Hadrian  Wall  in  Britain,  210 

Hague  (hag)  Conference,  First,  65S  ; 

Second,  658 
Ha  mil'car  Barca,  Carthaginian  gen- 
eral, 174 
Hamites,  14 

Hammurabi    (ham  moo  rii'be),    Baby- 
lonian king,  28 ;  his  code,  28 
Hampden,  John,  468 
Hanging  gardens  of  Babylon,  33  n.  i 
Hannibal,  174-177 
Hanover,    House     of,     in     I'lngland, 

503  n.  I 
Han  se  at'ic  League,  330 
Hardenburg,  Prince  von,  558 
Ilargreaves  (har'grcvz),  509 
Hiirmo'di  us,  Athenian  tyrannicide,  82 
Harold,  king  of  England,  299 
Harun-al-Rashid     (h;i  roon'al  ra  shed' 

or  hii  roon'al  rash'id),  caliph,  275 
Ilas'dru  bal,  brother  of  Hannibal.  176 
Ilasdrubal,   son-in-law    of    Hamilcar, 

174 
Hastings,  battle  of,  299 
Hcbert  (a  ber'),  534 
Hebrews,  the,  35-38 
Ilegira  (he  jT'rat^r  hej'i  ra),  the,  272 


Heidelberg  (hl'del  berk),  457 

Hejaz  (hej  az'),  kingdom  of  the, 709  n.  i 

Helgoland     (hel'go  lant)     ceded     by 

Great     ]>ritain     to     New    German 

Empire,  569  n.  2  ;  dismantled,  708 
Hel'i  con.  Mount,  54 
Ilel'las,  term  defined,  52 
Ilel  le'nes,  or  Hel'lenes,  52,  56.    See 

Gree/cs 
Hellenistic  culture,  115 
Hel'les  pont,  the.  74 
Heloise   (a  16  ez'),   pupil    of  Abelard, 

338 
He'lots,  the,  at  Sparta,  70 
Helvetic  Republic,  formed,  540 
Henry  VII,  king  of   England,  409 
Henry  VIII,  reign,  410-416 
Henry  III,  king  of  France,  438 
Henry  IV,  reign,  438-440 
Henry  IV,  Emperor  H.R.  E.,  307 
Henry,  Prince,  the  Navigator,  372 
Ilep'tarehy,  Saxon,  253 
He'ra,  65 
Iler'a  cles,  58 
Heralds,  College  of,  156 
Her  cu  la'ne  um,  209 
Hermann.    See  Arniinius 
He  rod'o  tus,  131 
Herzegovina    (hert  se  go  ve'na),   623, 

672 
Ile'si  od,  128 

Hieroglyphics,  Egyptian,  iS  n.  I 
II il'de  brand.    .See  Po/'e  Gregory  I'll 
Hindenburg  Line,  the,  700;   broken, 

694 
Hindenburg  (hin'den  boork),  681  n.  2 
Hip  par'chus,  astronomer.  140 
Ilipparchus,  Athenian  tyrant,  82 
Hip'pi  as,  82 
Hittites,  the,  17 

llohenstaufen   (ho'en  stow  fen),  Ger- 
many under,  319 
Hohcnzollern  (ho'en  tsol  lern),  House 
of,  in  Brandenburg,  493  ;  in  Prussia. 
493-500 
Holland.    See  Xethei-lands 
Holstein  (hol'stln).  duchy  of,  610 
Holy  .Alliance.  570 
Holy  Office.    .See  Inquisition 
Holy  Roman  I'".mpire.  name  attaches 
to  Western  Empire.  281  ;  relations 
of,  to  the  Papacy,  303 ;  results  for 
Germany    of   the    renewal    of   the 
imperial  authority,  357 ;  end  of,  549 


XXll 


INDEX 


Homage,  ceremony  of,  287 

Home  Rule,  Irish,  592 

Homeric  poems,  68,  127 

Ho  no'ri  us,  Roman  emperor,  224 

Horace,  poet,  203,  235 

Hor  ten'si  us,  jurist,  236 

Hos'pi  tal  ers,  order  of  the,  311 

Howard,  John,  508  n.  2 

1  lubertsburg.  Treaty  of.  497 

Huguenots  (hu'ge  nots),  name,  436 
n.  I  ;  wars,  435-441 

Humanism,  363-369.   .See  A\'>/(//sstiui:,- 

Humbert  I,  king  of  Italy,  601  n.  i 

Hundred  \'ears'  War,  345-3.18;  re- 
sults for  France,  353 

Hungary,  origin  of  kingdom,  32  |  ; 
Revolution  of  1848  in,  607  n.  i  ;  in 
Austro-Hungarian  monarchy,  617- 
619;  dismembered,  709  n.  i 

Huns,  drive  Goths  across  the  Danuljc, 
222  ;  defeated  at  Chalons,  229 

Hy  met'tus,  Mount,  54 

Iceland,  settled  from  Norway,  283 
Iconoclastic  controversy,  262 
Il'i  OS.    See  Trojan  War 
Independents,  English  religious  party 

(known  at  first  as  Separatists),  in 

Civil  War,  471 
India,  early  history,  47  ;  English  in, 

464,  506,  638 
I  ndians,  American,  origin  of  name,  374 
Indulgences,  defined,   384;   granting 

of,  by  Tetzel,  385  ;   Luther's  theses 

on,  387 
Industrial     Revolution    in     I'.ngland, 

508-510 
Industrialjsm,  the  New,  628-632 
Infanticide,  among  the  Creeks,  141  n.  i 
Inquisition,  the,  in  Eangucdoc.  315; 

in  .Spain,  356;  procedure  of,  394; 

in  Netherlands,  429 
Interdict,  effects  of,  307 
Investiture,  contest  respecting,  307 
lona  (i  o'na  or  e  o'na),  monastery,  256 
Ionia,  cities   of,   revolt   against   Per- 
sians, 85 
Ionian   Islands,  the,  55;   annexed  to 

Krance,    539;    ceded    to    Creece, 

621  n.  I 
Iran  (e  ran'),  plateau  of,  42 
I  reland,  conversion  of,  255 ;  Cromwell 

in,  473 ;   legislative  independence, 

507;    disestablishment    of    Church 


in,  5S8 ;  in  nineteenth  century  and 
after,  590-593 

Irene  (I  re'ne  or  i  run'),  I'.astcrn 
empress,  278 

Isabella,  queen  of  Castile,  355,  357 

Islam.    See  Mohaiiimedaniim 

Israel,  kingdom  of,  37 

Is'sus,  battle  of,  112 

Isthmian  games,  the,  67 

Italian  allies.    See  Social  War 

Italians,  branches  of,  148 

I  tal'i  ca.    See  Corfinium 

Italy,  divisions  of,  146;  its  early  in- 
habitants, 147-149;  no  national  gov- 
ernment during  Middle  Ages,  359; 
Renaissance  in,  361,  363-369  ;  from 
the  Congress  of  Vienna  to  the 
World  War,  594-603 ;  enters  the 
World  War,  683 ;  in  the  World 
War,  685  n.  4,  692  ;  acquires  Tren- 
tino  and  Trieste,  709  n.  i 

Jacobin  Club,  525  n.  i 

James  I,  king  of  England,  reign, 
462-466 

James  II,  481 

Jan'i  za  ries,  the,  327 

Ja'nus,  Roman  deity,  155 

Japan,  awakening  of,  648;  war  with 
China,  649;  war  with  Russia,  651 

Japanese,  racial  relationship,  13 

Jena  (ya'na).  battle  of,  550 

Jenghiz  Khan  (jen'gis  khan),  324 

Jeph'thah,  Hebrew  hero,  35 

Jerome,    '^e.c  St.  Jcrovw 

Jerome  IJonaparte,  king  of  West- 
phalia, 552 

Jerusalem,  taken  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
37 ;  taken  by  Titus,  208 ;  Latin 
Kingdom  of,  310;  captured  by 
British  in  World  War,  692 

Jesuits,  .Society  of  the,  394 

Jews,  expelled  from  .Spain,  357  ;  polit- 
ical disabilities  removed  in  i'.ngland, 
588.    '^t.fi  Jerusalem  and  Hebrews 

Joan  of  Arc,  347 

Joffre  (zhofr).  Marshal,  679 

John,  king  of  England,  quarrel  with 
Pope  Innocent  III,  319;  forfeits 
lands  in  Krance,  341  ;  grants  .Mai;;)ia 
Carta,  342 

John  of  Austria,  Don,  at  Lepanto,  405 

Joseph  Bonaparte,  king  of  Spain,  553 

Josephus,  historian,  38 


INDEX 


XXUl 


Jourdan     (zhoor  dori'),    campaign    of 

I  796,  538 
Jovian,  Roman  emperor,  221 
Judah,  kingdom  of,  37 
Judgment  of  the  Dead,  in  Egyptian 

theology,  21 
Jugoslavia  (yoo'go  slav"i  a),  709  n.  i 
Julian  the  Apostate,  reign,  221 
Ju  li  a'nus,  Did'i  us,  214 
Jupiter,  154 
Justin'ian,  his  reign,  26S;  his  code, 

238,  269 
Jutland,  naval  battle  of,  6S5n.  3 

Kaaba  (kii'ba  <7rka'aba),  the,  271 

Kant,  Immanuel,  quoted,  656 

Khufu.    See  Clifops 

Kiel  (kel)  Canal,  the,  667  n.  i 

Knox,  John,  423 

Koniggratz   (ke'niK  grets),   battle   of, 

611 
Ko'ran,  the,  272 
K6  re'a,  649,  652  n.  3 
Kosciuszko  (kos  i  us'ko),  492 
Kossuth  (kosh'oot.),  Louis,  C07  n.  i 
Kremlin,  the,  559 
Krii'ger,  Paul,  641 
Kublai  Khan  (kobb'lT  khjin),  325 
Ku  ro  pat'kin,  Russian  general,  652 
Kut-el-Amara  (koot-el-a  ma'ra),692  n.3 

La  ISruyere  (la  brii  yer'),  460  n.  i 

La9  e  dse'mon,  54 

La  co'ni  a,  geography  of,  54 

Lafayette  (la  fa  yet'),  520 

Lancaster,  Mouse  of.    See  Roses,  Wars 

of  the 
Langland,  William,  350 
Langton,  Stephen,  319 
Languedoc  (lang'gwe  dok),  315 
L(i>ii(iie    iVOc     (larig  dok'),      French 

dialect,  353 
Lau^ue    d'Oil     (lafig  dwcl')-    French 

dialect,  353 
La  oc'o  on,  the,  125 
La'res,  cult,  223 
La    Rochellc   (la  ro  shel').    Huguenot 

stronghold,  440 ;  siege  of,  440 
L"iis  Cji'sas,  381  n.  i 
Latimer,  bishop,  419 
Latin  colonies.    .See  Colonies 
Latin  l'"mi)ire  of  Constantinople,  312, 

3'3 
Latin  League,  149.    See  Latins 


Latins,  ethnic  relationship,  149;  re- 
volt of  Latin  towns  in  340  B.C.,  167  ; 
how  treated  by  Rome  after  the  Latin 
War,  167 

La'ti  um,  146 

Laud,  William,  467 

League  of  Nations,  preparations  for, 
656-658 ;  Covenant  of,  706 ;  first 
meeting  of  Council  of  the  League, 
709 

Leicester  (les'ter)  Abbey,  412 

Leipzig  (lIp'tsiK),  battle  of  (1S13),  561 

I>em'nos,  island,  55 

Lenin  (len'in),  692 

Leo  the  Great,  pope,  turns  Attila 
back,  229;  intercedes  for  Rome 
with  Geiseric,  230 

Leo  the  Isaurian,  262 

Leonardo  da  Vinci  (laoniir'do  dii 
vTn'che),  368 

Le  on'i  das,  king  of  Sparta,  89 

Leopold  II,  king  of  the  Belgians,  635 
n.  2 

Leopold  of  Ilohenzollern,  offered 
Spanish  crown,  612 

Le  pan'to,  battle  of,  404 

Lepidus,  Marcus  /Kmilius,  the  tri- 
um.vir,  197,  198 

Les'bos,  island,  55 

Lessing,  558  n.  i 

Leuc'tra,  battle  of,  106 

Leuthen  (loi'ten),  battle  of,  497 

Licinian  laws,  165 

Li  cin'i  us.  Gains,  tribune,  165 

Lictors,  attendants  of  the  Roman 
king,  152;  consular,  159 

I-iege  (leezh').  siege  of  (1914),  678 

"  Light  Brigade,"  the,  622 

Li  gu'ri  a,  146 

Ligurian  Republic.  539,  547 

Literature,  Hebrew,  37  ;  Chinese,  50  : 
Greek,  127-133;  Roman.  235-239  ; 
German, beginnings of,35S;  French, 
beginnings  of,  354  ;  French,  under 
Louis  XIV,  460;  English,  later 
mediaeval  period,  350;  English, 
under  Henry  VIII,  416;  English, 
under  Elizabeth,  426;  English,  of 
the  Puritan  period,  479 

Livingstone,  David,  635 

Eivy.  historian,  236 

Lloyd  George,  David,  586 

Lombards,  kingdom  of  the,  252;  de- 
stroyed by  Charles  the  Great,  277 


XXIV 


INDEX 


I.ombardy,    given    to    Austria,    568  ; 

ceded  to  Sardinia,  599 
Long  Walls  at  Athens,  94  ;  their  dem- 
olition by  the  Peloponnesians,  104 
Lords,    House     of     (English),     veto 

power  abolished,  5S5 
Lorraine   (16  ran'),  part  of,  ceded  to 
German  Empire,  577;    restored  to 
France,  707 
Lo  thair'.  Emperor  IL  R.  E.,  281 
Louis  I,  Prince  of  Conde  (koh  da'), 436 
Louis  IX,  king  of  France,  436 
Louis  XIII,  440;  reign,  453-461 
Louis  XV,  reign,  461 
Louis  XVI,  517,  529 
Louis  XVII  (dauphin),  532  n.  i 
Louis  XVIII,  accession,  561  ;   reign, 

573 
Louis    Bonaparte,   king    of    Holland, 

547-555 
Louis     Napoleon     Bonaparte.      See 

Xapoleoii  III 
Louis  Philippe,  king  of  the   P'rench, 

574 

Louisiana,  ceded  to  United  States,  548 

Louvain  (loo  van'),  university  and  li- 
brary of,  destroyed,  678 

Low  Countries.  See  Xethcrlands, 
Bch^ium 

L6  y5'la,  Ignatius  of,  394 

Lu  ca'ni  a,  146 

Lucerne,  Lion  of.  527  n.  2 

Lucretius  (lu  kre'shi  us),  poet,  235 

Ludendorff,  German  general,  693 

Luneville  (Hi  na'vel),  Treaty  of,  543 

I.iisitaiiici,  sinking  of  the,  682 

Luther,  Martin,  386-389 

Lutherans,  391 

Liitzen  (liit'sen),  battle  of  (1632),  444  ; 
(1813),  561 

Luxemburg  (liik'sem  berg)  occupied 
by  German  troops,  677 

Luxury,  Roman,  242 

Ly  ce'um,  the,  at  Athens,  82 

Ly  cur'gus,  legend  of,  70 

Lydia,  the  land,  42 ;  conquered  by 
Cyrus  the  Great,  43 

Ly  san'der,  Spartan  general,  104 

Mac'ca  bees,  the,  37 

Macedonia,    under    Philip    11,     109; 

after  Alexander's  death,  116 
Machiavelli  (ma  ke  a  vcl'le),  Nicholas, 

3fi' 


Madagascar,  French  in,  644 

Mas  ^e'nas,  patron  of  literature,  203 

Magdeburg  (miigde  boork),  443 

Magellan,  Ferdinand,  376 

Ma  gen'tii,  battle  of,  598 

Afagiia  C(V/a,  342 

Magna  Graicia,  the  name,  75;  colo- 
nies of,  75 

Ma'go,  brother  of  Hannibal,  176 

Magyars  (mod'yorz).    See  Hnitgary 

Mainz  (mints),  385 

Mai  a  bar'  coast,  374 

Man  chu'ri  a,  Chinese  province,  oc- 
cupied by  Russia,  651 

Manorial  system,  the,  289 

Man  ti  ne'a,  battle  of  (362  h.c),  ioS 

Mar'a  thon,  battle  of,  86,  87 

Marco  Pu'ld,  mentioned,  317;  at 
Mongol  court,  325 

Mar  do'ni  us,  Persian  general,  90 

Ma  ren'go,  battle  of,  543 

Maria  Theresa,  (ma  re'a  te  re'sa), 
queen  of    Hungary,  496 

Marie  Antoinette   (mar'i  an  toi  net'), 

5'7'  532 
Marie  Louise,  of  Austria,  554 
Ma'ri  us,   (jaius,   is   proscribed,    1S6; 

massacres  the  aristocrats,  186 
Marne    (miirn),    first    battle    of    the, 

679  ;  second,  699  n.  i 
Mars,  Roman  god  of  war,  155 
Marseiilais  (mar  se  lya';  F.  mar  se  ye'), 

the  six  hundred,  527 
Marseillaise  (miirselyaz';   F.  mar  se- 

yaz'),  the,  527 
Marsic  War.    See  Social  IVtxrs 
Marx,  Karl,  632  n.  i 
Mary  I,  queen  of  England,  418 
Mary  .Stuart,  queen  of  .Scots.  422-424 
Massiiia  (ma  sTl'Ta),  founded,  76 
Matilda,  Countess  of  Tuscany,  307 
Max  im'i  an,  Roman  Emperor,  218 
Maz'a  rin,  French  minister,  454 
Mazurian  Lakes,  battle  of  the,  681  n.  2 
Mazzini  (mat  se'ne).  Joseph,  596 
Mcc'ca,  271 
Medes,  the,  42 

Medicine,  science  of,  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, 23 
Medina  (me  de'na),  272 
Melanchthon  (me  langk'thon),39i  n.  i 
Men  e  la'us,  60 

Menelik,  king  of  Abyssinia,  643  n.  i 
Merovingians,  Franks  under,  252 


IXDEX 


XXV 


Mer'o  wig,  252  n.  i 

Mesopotamia,  24'n.  2  ;  709  n.  2 

Mes  sa'na,  Greek  colon}',  72 

Mes  se'ni  an  Wars,  72 

Metaurus,  river,  battle  of  the,  176 

Methodists,  rise  of,  504 

Metric  system,  the,  533 

Metternich  (met'erniK),  Prince,  570 

Meuse  (muz)j  river,  700 

Mexico,  conquest  by  Spain,  379 

Michael  Angelo,  36S 

Mi  Ian'  Decree,  553 

Mil  trades,  86 

Milton,  John,  479 

Milvian  Bridge,  battle  at,  218 

Min'ne  sing  ers,  358 

Mi'nos,  king  of  Crete,  55,  58 

Mir,  the  Russian,  624  n.  i 

Mirabeau  (me  ra  bo'),  521 

Missolonghi  (mis  so  long'ge),  620  n.  i 

Mith  ra  da'tes  VI,  the  Great,  king  of 

Pontus,  186,  189 
Mittel-Eitropa,  Pan-Germanists'  plan 
of,  665 

Modena  (mo'da  na),  599 

Mohammed,  271,  272 

Mohammed  11,  sultan  of  the  Otto- 
mans, 327 

Mohammedanism,  rise  of,  271-276; 
under    earlier    caliphs,   273 

Mol  da'vi  a,  partial  independence  of, 
621,  623  n.  2 

Moliere  (md  Iyer'),  460 

Monasteries,  suppression  of,  in  Eng- 
land, 413-415 

Monasticism,  257-259 

Mongols,  their  conquests,  324-326 

Monk,  George.  477 

Monks.    See  Mouasticism 

Montcalm  (mont  kiim').  505 

Monte  Cassino  (mon'ia  kas  se'nd), 
monastery,  2  58 

Montenegro  (mon  te  na'gro),  623  n.  2, 
684 

Mon  te  zu'ma,  379 

Montfort,  Simon  de,  English  earl.  343 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  humanist,  408 ; 
death,  413;  his  i'topia,  416 

Moreau  (mo  rd'),  campaign  of,  538 

Moriscos,  the,  405  n.  i  ;  expulsion  of, 
405 

Morocco,  668 ;  the  first  Moroccan 
crisis  (1905),  668;  the  second 
crisis  ( 191 1 ).  672 


Morton,  Cardinal,  409 

Moscow  (mos'ko  ^irmos'kow),  559 

Moses,  Hebrew  lawgiver,  35 

]Mosul  (mo'sool),  31 

Mountainists,  the,  528 

Muk  den',  battle  of,  652  n.  2 

Municipal  system,  Roman,  166.    See 

J\htnicipia 
iMu  nicip'i  a,  Roman,  167 
Murat  (mil  rii'),  Joachim,  553 
Mus'co  vy,  359 
My  ce'nas,  53,  61  n.  i 
Mycenaean  Age,  57  n.  i 

Nab  6  ni'dus,  king  of  Babylon,  34 

Nab  o  po  las'sar,  33 

Nantes  (nants  ;  Fr.  pron.  noht).  Edict 
of,  439;  revocation  of,  456 

Naples,  kingdom  of,  founded  by 
Normans,  298  n.  i  ;  becomes  part 
of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  599 

Napoleon  I,  Bonaparte,  guards  Con- 
vention, 537 ;  campaign  in  Italy, 
53S  ;  campaign  in  Egypt,  539  ;  over- 
throws Directory,  541  ;  as  Consul 
and  Emperor,  543-564 

Napoleon  II    (king   of  Rome),  555 

Napoleon  III,  575,  576 

Niir'vii,  battle  of,  4S9 

Naseby  (naz'bi),  battle  of,  471 

Na  tal',  641 

Nau'cra  tis,  founded.  76 

Navarino  .  (na  va  re'no),  battle  of, 
620  n.  I 

Nax'os,  secedes  from  the  Delian 
League.  93 

Neb  II  chad  nez'zar  II.  33 

Neck'er.  French  minister,  517 

Nelson,  Horatio,  at  battle  of  the  Nile, 
540 ;  at  Trafalgar,  550 

Ne'me  a,  67 

Nemean  games,  the,  67 

Nem'e  sis,  65  n.  i 

Neolithic  Age.    See  Stoiu-  Age.  .\'i-o 

Nero,  Roman  emperor,  207 

Nerva,  Roman  emperor.  209 

Netherlands,  the.  428-434;  inde- 
pendent of  Holy  Roman  Empire. 
445;  made  kingdom  of  Holland. 
547  ;  annexed  to  France.  555  ;  king- 
dom of.  formed,  568.    See  Bt-lgiuiu 

New  German  Empire  in  the  World 
War,  661-71 1 

New  Learning.    .See  llumaiii.uu 


XXVI 


INDEX 


New  Zealand,  637,  638  n.  i ;    in   the 

World  War,  685,  701 
Ney  (na).  Marshal,  562 
Nibelungenlicd(nC''belo6ngenlct),358 
Ni  9a£;'a,  church  council  at,  220 
Nice  (nes),  611  n.  i 
Nicholas  I,  Tsar,  620  n.  2 
Nicholas  II,  C2on.  2;    calls  the  First 

Hague  Peace  Conference,  65S  ;  his 

abdication,  688 ;  his  death,  6S9 
Ni9'i  as,  Athenian  general,  103 
Nihilism,  Russian,  625 
Nin'e  veh,  26,  30 
No'gi,  Japanese  general,  652  n.  i 
Normandy,  in  French  history,  285 
Normans,  in  Italy  and  Sicily,  398  n.  i ; 

in  England,  298-302.  See  A'ort/n/toi 
North  German  Confederation,  611 
Northmen,  282-285.    See  Scandina- 

vians 
Norway,  568  n.  i 

Notre  Uame  (no'tr  drim),  Paris,  533 
Nova  Scotia  ceded  to  Kngland,  458 

Octavius,  Gaius,  opposes  Antony, 
197;  enters  the  Second  Trium- 
virate, 197  ;  his  reign,  200-204 

O  do  a'cer,  231 

O  dys'seus,  60,  61 

Od'ys  sey.    See  Homeric  poems 

O  lym'pi  a,  location  of,  54  ;  temple  of 
Zeus  Olympius  at,  121 

O  lym'pi  ad,  the  term,  66 

Olympian  Council,  the,  64 

Olympian  games,  the,  66;  revival  of, 
68  n.  I ;  influence  upon  Greek  sculp- 
ture, 67,  123 

O  lym'pus,  Mount,  54 

O'mar,  caliph,  273  n.  i 

Opium  War,  639  n.  i 

Oracles  among  the  (ireeks,  65.  See 
Delphian  oracle 

Orange  Free  State,  641 

Orange  River  Colony,  641 

Oratory,  (^reek,  132;   Roman,  236 

Ordeals,  among  the  Teutons,  265-267 

Or'le  an§  (Fr.  pron.  or  la  oh'),  relief 
of,  by  Joan  of  Arc,  347 

Or'mazd,  46 

O  .si'ris,  Egyptian  deity,  19 

Os'sa,  Mount,  54 

Ostracism,  83,  84  n.  i 

Ostrf)goths,  cross  the  Danube,  223; 
Kingdom  of  the,  250 


Oth  man',  caliph,  273  n.  i 
Othman  I,  Ottoman  prince,  327  n.  i 
Otto  I,   the  Great,  restores  the  Em- 
pire, 28 1 
Ottomans.    See  Turks 
Ov'id,  poet,  203,  235 
O  yii'ma.  Field  Marshal,  652 

Pa'dus.    See  Po 

Paine,  Thomas,  528 

Painting,  Greek,  125 

Palatinate,  War  of  the,  457 

Paleolithic  Age.  See  Stone  Age., 
Old 

Palestine  (pal'es  tin),  35-37,  309,  310, 
314,  695,  709  n.  I 

Papacy,  claims  of  primacy  by  the 
Roman  bishops,  260 ;  circumstances 
that  favored  growth,  260-263;  ori- 
gin of  its  temporal  authority,  262 ; 
relations  of,  to  the  II.  R.  E.,  308; 
Concordat  of  Worms,  308  ;  removal 
of  papal  seat  to  Avignon,  322;  the 
Great  Schism,  322  n.  2  ;  end  of 
temporal  power,  60  r  ;  relations  with 
Italian  government,  602;  infalli- 
bility of,  602  n.  I.    See  Popes 

Papyrus  paper,  18 

Pa/a  Ills,  Athenian  state  ship,  104 

Paris,  Peace  of  (1763),  506;  (1783), 
507;  (1S14),  561  n.  i;  (1815),  563 
n.  3;  (1856),  622 

Parliament,  English,  creation  of 
House  of  Commons,  343  ;  effects 
upon,  of  Hundred  \' ears'  War,  348  ; 
the  Eong  Parliament,  469;  the  Little 
Parliament,  475;  union  of  English 
and  Scotch  Parliaments,  502 

Par  nas'sus,  Mount,  54 

Parsifal  (piir'se  fiii),  poem  of,  358 

Parthenon,  the,  121;  sculptures  of, 
124  n.  I 

Par  the  no  pG'an  Republic,  541 

Pascal,  460  n.  i 

Passchendacle  (pas  Ken  dii'le)  Ridge, 
702 

Pa'terfa  mil'i  as,  power  of,  1 50 

Patricians,  term  explained,  154 

Patricius  (pa  trish'ius).    .See  St.  Patrick 

Pau  sa'ni  as,  his  treason,  92 

Peace  ("onfcrence  at  The  Hague, 
P'inst,  658  ;  Second,  658 

Peace  Convention  at  Paris  (1919)) 
705-709 


INDEX 


XXVI 1 


Peasants'  Revolt,  in  England,  351  n.  i ; 
in  (]ermany,  389 

I'e  king',  siege  of  embassies  at,  650 

I'e'li  on.  Mount,  54 

I'el  o  pon  ne'sian  War,  98-105 

Pel  o  pon  ne'sus,  the  name,  52  ;  con- 
quered by  the  Dorians,  69 

Pe'lops,  52 

Pe  nates,  Roman  household  gods, 
worship  interdicted,  223 

Pen  tel'l  cus.  Mount,  54 

Per'ga  mum  (or  Pergamus),  center  of 
Hellenistic  culture,  117  n.  i 

Per  i  an'der,  134  n.  i 

Per'i  cles,  94-97  ;  funeral  oration  of, 
99  ;  his  death,  10 1 

Per  i  oe'9i,  the,  in  Laconia,  70 

Perry,  Commodore,  648 

Per  sep'o  lis,  destroyed  by  Alexander, 

H3 

Pershing,  (jeneral,  693 
Persian  Empire,  political  history,  42- 
44 ;     nature    of    government,    45 ; 
wars  with  Greece,  85-91;  conquered 
by  Alexander  the  Great,  11  i-i  13 
Peru,  Spanish  conquest  of,  380 
Peter,  the  apostle.    See  SL  Peter 
Peter  I,  the  Great,  Tsar,  485-490 
Peter  III,  497 
Petition  of  Right,  466 
Petrarch,  as  a  humanist,  365 
Petrograd  (pye  tro  grat'),  489 
Phalanx,  Macedonian,  109  n.  2 
Pharaoh  (fa'rd),  the  name,  16 
i'ha'ros,  the,  at  Alexandria,  118 
Phar'sa  lus,  battle  of,  194 
Phid'i  as,  his  masterpieces,  124 
Phi  dip'pi  des,  Greek  runner,  86 
Philip  II,  Augustus,  king  of  P" ranee, 

Philip  IV,  the  Pair,  his  quarrel  with 
Pope  Boniface  VIII,  321  ;  sum- 
mons the  commons  to  the  National 
Assembly,  352 

Philip  II,  king  of  Macedon,  109,  110 

Philip  1 1,  king  of  Spain,  reign,  404-406 

Phi!!])  Ill,  expels  Moriscos,  405 

Phi  lijj'pi,  battle  at,  198 

I'hililipines,  discovered,  376 

Philistines  (fi  lis'tinz),  35 

Phi'Io,  38 

Pho'cis,  district  of  (Greece,  52 

Phoe'bus.    See  Af>ollo 

Phoenicia  (fe  nish'i  a),  39 


Phoenicians,  39-41 

Piave  (pe  a'va),  692 

Pi  ce'num,  146 

Piedmont.    See  Sardinia 

Pilgrim  Eathers,  422,  464 

Pindar,  128 

Pi  ras'us,  the,  fortified  by  Themis- 
tocles,  94 

Pirates,  in  the  Mediterranean,  188 

Pi  sis'tra  tus,  tyrant  of  Athens,  82 

Pitt,  William,  Earl  of  Chatham,  505 

Pi  zar'r5,  Erancisco,  380 

Plan  tag'e  net.  House  of,  341 

Plassey,  battle  of,  506 

Pla  tae'a,  battle  of,  91 

Plato,  life  and  works,  136 

Plautus,  dramatist,  235 

Plebeians  (pie  be'yans),  their  status 
in  early  Rome,  154;  significance 
to  them  of  the  Servian  reforms, 
158;  first  secession,  159;  secure 
admission  to  the  consulship,  165 

Pliny  the  Elder,  209 

Plu'tareh,  133 

Po,  river,  147 

Poison  gas,  first  use  of,  by  the  Ger- 
mans, 701 

Poitiers  (pwa  tya'),  battle  of  (1356), 
346  n.  I 

Poland,  partitions  of,  491,  492,  498; 
under  Napoleon,  551,  552  ;  Russian 
kingdom  of,  568;  restoration  of,  707 

Poltava  (pol  ta'va),  battle  of,  490 

Po  lyb'i  us,  historian,  133 

Pol  yg  no'tus,  painter,  126 

Po  lyx'e  na,  daughter  of  Priam,  126 

Pom  e  ra'ni  a,  445 

Pompadour  (poii  pa  door'),  Madame 
de,  517 

Pompeii  (pom  pe'yi  or  pom  pa'yee) 
destroyed,  209  n.  i 

Pompey,  Gnae'us,  the  Great,  189,  190, 
191,  193,  194 

Poutifex  Maxim  IIS,  i  56 

Pontiffs,  College  of,  1 56 

Pontus,  state  in  Asia  Minor,  116  n.  i 

Popes:  Leo  I,  the  Great,  229,  230; 
Gregory  I,  255;  Eeo  III.  27S ; 
Gregory  VII,  305-307;  Urban  II, 
310;  Alexander  III,  318;  Inno- 
cent III,  319;  Poniface  VIII,  321  ; 
Alexander  VI,  375;  Eeo  X.  385; 
Clement  VII,  412;  Sixtus  V,  424; 
Gregory  XIII,  437;    Pius  VII,  at 


XXVUl 


INDEX 


Napoleon's  coronation,  546;  Pius 
VII,  a  prisoner,  554  ;  Pius  IX,  602 
n.  2  ;  Leo  XIII,  602  n.  2  ;  Pius  X, 
602  n.  2  ;  Benedict  XV,  602  n.  2. 
See  Papacy 

Port  Arthur,  ceded  to  Japan,  650; 
leased  to  Russia,  651  ;  siege  05,652 

Portsmouth,  Peace  of,  652  n.  3 

Portugal,  kingdom  of,  its  beginnings, 
314,  315;  French  invasion  of,  553 

Po  sei'don,  64 

Posen  (po'zen),  given  to  the  new 
Poland,  707 

Potato  introduced  into  Europe, 4  26  n.  i 

Pot  i  dae'a,  revolt  of,  against  Athens, 
98 

Praetorian  guard,  corps  created  by 
Augustus,  206  n.  I  ;  disbanded  by 
Septimius  Severus,  214 

Pragmatic  Sanction,  496 

Prague  (prag).  Treaty  of  (i(S66),  61 1 

Prax  it'e  les,  124 

Pride's  Purge,  471 

Printing,  invention  of,  366 

Prop  y  lae'a,  the,  95 

Protectorate  in  England,  475-477 

Protestant  Revolution.  See  Reforma- 
tion 

Protestants,  origin  of  name,  391  ; 
divisions  among,  391 

Protestation,  the  Cireat,  464 

Provencal  (pro'vdii  sal')  speech,  353 

Provinces,  Roman,  government  of, 
reformed  by  Augustus,  202  ;  condi- 
tion of,  under  the  Antonines,  212 

Prussia,  foundations  of,  laid  l)v 
Teutonic  Knights,  315;  under  the 
Great  Elector,  493 ;  becomes  a  king- 
dom, 493,  494  ;  in  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 493-500 ;  regeneration  of,  557 ; 
from  Congress  of  Vienna  to  the 
World  War,  604-617 

Ptol'e  my,  Claudius,  astronomer,  140 

I'tolemy  I,  Soter,  117 

Public  lands,  Roman,  182 

Public  .Safety,  ("ommittee  of,  first, 
530;  second,  or  Great,  531 

I'unic  War.  First,  172;  Second,  174- 
177  ;  Third,  179 

Puritans,  under  Elizabeth,  422  ;  rule 
of.  478 

Pyramids,  the,  16;  as  tombs,  17; 
battle  of  the,  540 

I'yr'rhus,  169 


Py  thag'o  ras,  134 
Pyth'i  a,  the,  65 
Pythian  games,  67 

Quebec,  battle  of,  505 
Quito  (ke'to),  381 

Rii,  Egyptian  deity,  19 

Races  of  mankind,  12-14 

Racine  (rii  sen'),  460 

Raleigh  (ra'li).  Sir  Walter,  426,  465 

Ra  me'ses  II,  17  ;  mummy  of,  20 

Raphael  (raf'ael),  368 

Rastadt,  Treaty  of,  458 

Ravaillac  (rii  va  yak'),  440 

Reason,  worship  of,  533 

Red  Cross  .Society,  in  World  War, 
700,  700  n.i 

Reform  Pill,  English,  of  1832,  582; 
of  1S67,  584;  of  1884,  584 

Reformation,  causes  of,  383 ;  ques- 
tion of  indulgences,  384-386; 
Luther,    386-389.    See  Con  toils 

Re  ho  bo'am,  36 

Reichstag  (German  pronunciation 
rlKs'tak).  614 

Renaissance  (ri-nasahs':  the  italic  e 
here  has  the  obscure  sound  of  e  in 
"novel"),  the,  363-369.  See  Jlii- 
vianism 

Restoration,  English,  477 

Revival  of  Learning.  See  Renaissance 

Revolution,  English,  of  1688,  481  ; 
industrial,  50S-510;  American,  506; 
French,  of  1789,  512-542;  French, 
of  July,  1830,  574;  French, of  Febru- 
ary, 1848,  574;  lielgian,  of  1830, 
574;  Italian,  of  1820,  595;  Italian, 
of  1830,  595;  Italian,  of  1848,  596; 
German,  of  1830,  606;  Cierman,  of 
184S,  607;  German,  of  1918,  696; 
Russian,  of  1917.  688,  692 

Revolutionary  Tribunal  F'rench,  es- 
tablished, 530 

Rheims  (remz),  34S 

Rhodes,  center  of  Hellenistic  culture, 
1 1 6  n.  I  ;  school  of  sculpture  at,  125 

Rhodes,  Cecil.  641 

Richard  I,  king  of  England,  312 

Richard  III,  349 

Richelieu{resh  lye'), (Cardinal,  440, 44  r 

Ridley,  419 

Rienzi  (reen'ze),  tribune  of  Rome,  355 

Rights,  English  Mill  of,  483 


INDEX 


XXIX 


Rights  of  Man,  French  declaration 
of  (1789),  523 

Robespierre  (ro  bes  pyer'),  in  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety,  530;  death, 
536 

Rojestvensky  (ro  zhest'ven  ski),  Rus- 
sian admiral,  652,  n.  2 

Rr/land,  paladin,  277  n.  2 

Roland  (ro  Ion'),  Madame,  532 

Rollo,  Scandinavian  chief,  285 

Romagna  (ro  man'ya),  the,  599 

Roman  colonies.    See  Colonies 

Roman  Empire,  definitely  established 
by  Augustus,  200-202 ;  greatest  ex- 
tent under  Trajan,  210;  sale  of,  by 
the  pretorians,  213;  its  final  division, 
224;  fall  of  the,  in  the  West,  231; 
restored  by  Charlemagne,  278  ;  re- 
newed by  Otto  the  Great,  281.  See 
Eastern  Empii'e  and  Holy  Roman 
Empire 

Roman  law,  23S,  267 

Roman  roads,  171 

Romance  languages,  265 

Romance  nations,  264 

Romanoff  or  Romanov  (ro  mii'nof). 
House  of,  485 

Rome,  early  society  and  government, 
I  50-1 56  ;  under  the  kings,  1 57,  i  58  ; 
sacked  by  the  Gauls,  164;  com- 
pared with  Carthage,  172  ;  sacked 
by  Alaric,  226;  sacked  by  the  Van- 
dals, 230  ;  capital  of  the  kingdom  of 
Italy,  600 

Rom'u  lus,  king  of  Rome,  157 

Romulus  Augustus,  last  emperor  of 
the  West,  231 

Roncesvalles  (ron  se  val'les  ;  Sp.  ron- 
thes  val'yes).  Pass  of,  277  n.  2 

Roses,  Wars  of  the,  348,  349 

Rosetta  Stone,  the,  19 

Ross'bach,  battle  of,  497 

Ros'tra,  163 

Rouen  (roo  on'),  285 

Rougetde  Risle(rdbzha'delel),  527 n.i 

Rousseau  (roo  so'),  516 

Rubicon,  river,  1S4  ;  crossed  by 
Caesar,  193 

Rumania  or  Roumania  (rod  ma'ni  a), 
210,  623  n.  2,  686 

Rumelia  or  Roumelia  (roo  me'li  a), 
Kastern.  623  n.  2 

Runnymede  (riin'imed),  342 

Ru'rik,  Scandinavian  chief,  2S4 


Russia,  the  Mongol  invasion,  326, 
359;  rise  of  Muscovy,  359;  under 
Peter  the  Great,  485-490;  under 
Catherine  the  Great,  490  ;  from  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  to  the  World 
War,  620-627  ;  Revolution  of  1917, 
688 

Russo-Japanese  War,  651 

Russo-Turkish  War,  of  1828-1829, 
620;  of  1877-1878,  622 

Rys'wick,  Treaty  of,  457 

Saar  (zar)  basin,  mines  of,  given  to 

France,  707 
Sabbath,  adopted  as  day  of  rest  by 

Constantine,  220 
Sadowa  (sii'dS  va),  battle  of,  611 
Sa  gun'tum,  taken  by  Hannibal,  174 
St.  Augustine,  Aurelius,  238 
St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  massacre  of, 

436 
St.  Benedict,  258 

St.  15er'nard,  preaches  crusade,  3 1 1  n.  2 
St.  Boniface  (bon'e  fass).   See  I  tin/rid 
St.  Dom'i  nic,  320 
St.  Francis,  320 
St.  Germain  (sah'  zher'mafi').  Treaty 

of  (1919),  709  n.  I 
St.  Helena,  564 
St.  Jerome,  237 

St.  John,  Knights  of.    See  Hospitalers 
St.  Mihiel  (sah  me  yel')  salient,  699 
St.  Patrick,  255 
St.  Peter,  207,  260 
St.  Peter's,  Rome,  368 
St.  Petersburg,  founded,  489 
Sakhalin  (sa  ka  len'),  652  n.  3 
Sal'a  din,  312 
Sal'a  mis,  battle  of,  90 
Salisbury,  Gemot  of,  300 
Sallust,  historian,  236 
Saloniki  (sa  lo  ne'ke),  684  n.  i 
Samaria,  captured  by  Sargon  II,  37 
Samnite  Wars,  168 
Siin  Stef  a  no,  Treaty  of,  623  n.  i 
Sans  Souci  (siih  sob  se'),  500 
Sappho  (saf'o),  128 
Sar'a  cus,  king  of  Nineveh.  30 
Sarajevo  (sa  ra  ya'vo).  674  n.  i 
Sardinia,    kingdom    of,    in    Crimean 

War,   50S  ;  war  with  Austria,  3<)S ; 

annexations  of  territory,  599,  600; 

becomes  kingdom  of  Italy,  599 
.Sar'dis,  capital  of  I.ydia,  42 


XXX 


INDEX 


Sar'gon  I,  26 

Siir'gon  II,  30 

Sa  vo  na  ro'la,  Girolamo  (je  ro'la  mo), 
362 

Saxony,  becomes  a  kingdom,  551  n.  2 

Scandinavians,  as  pirates  and  colo- 
nizers, 282-285 

Schieswig  (shlas'viK)  or  Sleswick, 
duchy  of,  annexed  to  Prussia,  610; 
part  of,  subject  of  a  plebiscite,  707 

Schleswig-IIolstein  War,  610 

Schliemann  (shle'miin).  Dr.,  60,  61  n.  i 

Schoolmen,  337-339 

Scipio,  Publius  Cornelius  (Africanus 
Major),  defeats  Hannibal  at  Zama, 

177 
Scipio,  Publius  Cornelius  /l^milianus 

(Africanus  Minor),  179 
Scone  (skoon),  Stone  of,  344 
Scotland,    wars   with    England,   344 ; 

union    of    Scottish     and     Plnglish 

crowns,  345;    union   of  their  par- 
liaments, 502 
Scriptorium,  259 
Sculpture,  (}reek,  123-125 
Sedan  (se  doii'),    capitulation    of,    in 

Franco- Prussian  War,  576 
Seine  (san),  river,  285 
Se  ja'nus,  206 

Se  leu'yi  doe,  kingdom  of  the,  1 17 
Se  leu'cus  Ni  ca'tor,  1 17 
Senate,  Roman,  under  the  kings,  1 52  ; 

number  of  senators  reduced  to  six 

hundred  by  Augustus,  202 
Sen'e  ca,  moralist,  Nero's  tutor,  207  ; 

his  teachings,  237 
Sen  e  gal',  643 
Sen  nach'e  rib,  30 
Separatists,  422 
Se'poy  Mutiny,  639 
Sep'tu  a  gint,  the,  133 
Serbia,  independence  of,  623  n.  2  ;  its 

relations  to  Austria-Hungary,  674  ; 

in  the  World  War,  684 
Serfs,    under    feudal     system,     287 ; 

Russia  emancipates,  624 
Scr  ve'tus,  394 
Servile  War,  First,  181 
Servius  Tullius,  his  reforms,  158 
Sesostris.    See  Kamesfs  If 
Se  vas'to  pnl,  siege  of,  622 
Seven  Hills,  the,  of  Rome,  157 
Seven  Sages,  the,  134 
Seven  Weeks'  War,  610 


Seven  Years'  War,  496-498,  505 
Sevigne     (sa  ven  ya),     Madame    de, 

460  n.  I 
Shakespeare,  465 
Sib'yl  line  Books,  155 
Sicilian  expedition,  the,  102 
Sicily,  Creek  colonics  in,  76;  at  the 

beginning  of  the  First  Punic  War, 

173 
Sidon,  39 

Siegfried  (seg'frcd),  358 
Sieyes  (se  a  yas'),  521 
Silesia  (sTlc'shia),  seized  by  Frederick 

the  Great,  496 ;  part  of,  given  to  the 

new  Poland,  707 
Sim'o  ny,  305  n.  i 
Siraj-ud-Daula  (se  ra'jood  dow'la),5o6 

n.  I 
Siwah  (see'wa),  oasis  of,  112 
Slave    trade,    African,    beginning   of 

the,  372  ;  England  abolishes,  50S 
Slavery,  among  the  Greeks,  145;  in 

early    Rome,    151;    general    state- 
ments  respecting,    243 ;    abolished 

in  English  colonies,  5S3  n.  i 
Slaves,  number  in  Middle  Ages,  289 

n.  I 
Slavs,  at  opening   of   Middle  Ages, 

249.    See  Russia 
Smo  lensk',  559 
Smyrna,  709  n.  i 
Social    War,    183;    comments    upon 

results,  184 
Socialism,  632 
Socrates,  his  trial  and  death,  106;  his 

teachings,  1 36 
Sog  di  a'na,  1 13 

Solferino  (sol  fe  re'no),  battle  of,  598 
Solomon,  king  of  Hebrews,  36 
So'lon.  81 

Sol'y  man,  the  Magnificent,  Sultan,  400 
Sommc  (som),  first  battle  of  the,  685 

n.  4 
Sophists,  the,  135 
Sojih'o  clcs,  tragic  poet,  130 
South  Africa,  England  in.  640;  Union 

of,  641  ;  in  the  World  War,  641 
Spain,    conquest    of,    by    Saracens, 

274;  early  history,  355-357  ;  under 

Charles  V,  399-403;   under  Philip 

II,  404,  405  ;   under  Philip  I II,  405; 

war  with  Netherlands,  428-434  ;  in 

the  Napoleonic  Era,  553 
Spanish  colonies,  beginnings,  380 


INDEX 


XXXI 


Spanish  Fury,  the,  431 

Spanish  Succession,  War  of  the,  457  ; 

England's  gains  in,  501 
Sparta,  early  history,  69-72 
Spar'ta  cus,  leader  of  gladiators,  188 
Spartan    supremacy     (404-371  B.C.), 

105-108 
Spenser,  Edmund,  427 
Spinning  jenny  invented,  509 
Spor'a  des,  the,  55 
Sta'dium  (//.  stadia),  122 
Stanley,  Henry  M.,  634,  635 
States-General,  French,  353  ;  of  1789, 

518 
Stein  (stin).  Baron  vom,  558 
Stil'i  eho,    Roman    general    (Vandal 

born),  225,  228 
Stoessel   (stes's^l),    Russian  general, 

652  n. I 
Stoics,  the,  138 
Stone  Age,  New,  5 ;  Old,  2-5 
Strafford,  Thomas  Wentworth,    Earl 

of,  467,  470 
Strasburg  (Ger.  Strassburg;  Fr.  Stras- 
bourg),   oath    of,    281  ;    seized    by 
Louis  XIV,  456 
Stuart,   House  of,  in  England,  462- 

472,  480-482 
Submarine     warfare,    German,     682, 

687,  693,  703 
Sulla,   Lucius  Cornelius,  given  com- 
mand against  Mithradates,  186;  his 
proscriptions,   187  ;  made    dictator, 
188;  his  abdication  and  death,  188 
Sully  (siil'i),  Duke  of,  439 
Su'ni  um,  cape,  96 
Supremacy,    Act    of,    under    Henry 

VHL  413;  under  Elizabeth,  421 
Surat  (soo  riit'),  English  at,  464 
Susa,  taken  by  Alexander,  113 
Sweden,  in  Thirty  \'cars'  War,  445  ; 
gain  in  Teace  of  Westphalia,  445; 
union  with  Norway,  568  n.  i 
Swiss    Confederation,    the,    becomes 
independent  of  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, 445;  French  intervention  in, 
540  ;  as  a  federal  state,  656 
Swiss  Guards,  of  Tuileries,  527 
Switzerland.   See  S7o/ss  Confederation 
Syb'a  ris.  founded,  76 
Symposium,  the,  features  of,  144 
Syracuse,  founded,  76;    in  the  Pelo- 

ponnesian  War,  102 
Syria,  made  a  Roman  province,  117 


Tacitus,  historian,  237 
Talleyrand  (tali  rand),  561 
Tal'mud,  38 
Tam  er  lane'.    See  limnr 

Tannenberg  (tan'nen  berk),  battle  of, 
681  n.  2 

Taras.    See  Tarentum 

Tarentum,  Greek  colony,  75 ;  war 
with  Rome,  169 

Tarquinius  Superbus,  king  of  Rome, 
158 

Tar'ta  rus,  in  Greek  myth,  64 

Te  lem'a  chus,  monk,  226 

Templars,  order  of  the,  origin,  31 1 

Ten  Thousand,  the,  105 

Ter'ence,  dramatist,  235 

Terror,  Reign  of,  531-537 

Test  Act,  repealed,  587 

Tetzel,  John,  385-387 

Teutonic  Knights,  order  of  the,  origin, 
311;  in  Baltic  region,  315;  secular- 
ized, 390 

Teutons,  migrations,  227  ;  kingdoms 
established  by,  250-253;  their  con- 
version, 254-256;  fusion  with  the 
Latins,  264-267 

Tha'les,  134 

Theaters,  Grecian, description  of,  122; 
entertainments  of,  143 ;  Roman, 
233  ;    entertainments  of,  240 

Theban  supremacy,  108 

Thebes,  in  Greece,  seized  by  the 
Spartans,  107  ;  hegemony  of,  108 

The  mis'to  cles,  his  naval  policy,  87 ;  in- 
terprets the  oracle  of  the  "  wooden 
walls,"  90 

The  oc'ri  tus,  poet,  133 

The  od'o  ric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths, 
250 

Theodosius  (the  o  do'shi  iis)  I,  the 
Great.  Roman  emperor,  223 

Ther'maj,  Roman,  234. 

Thcr  mop'y  la:,  battle  of,  SS 

Theseus  (the'sus),  king  of  Athens,  79 

Thes'sa  ly,  description  of,  52 

The'te§,  81 

Thiers  (tyer),  578  n.  i 

Third  Estate,  the.  beginnings  of.  in 
the  towns.  334 ;  French,  under 
the  Bourbons,  514 

Thirty  \ears'  War,  the,  442-448 

Thor,  (icrman  dcitv.  255 

Thorvaidsen  (tor  viild  zen).  527  n.  i 

Thu  (,yd'i  dC'S,  the  historian.  131 


xxxu 


IXDEX 


Tiber,  river,  147 
Tiberine  Republic  of  179S,  540 
Tiberius,  Roman  emperor,  206 
Tiers  Eiat  (tyer  za  ta').    See  Third  Es- 
tate 
Tigris,  valley  of  the,  24 
Tilsit,  Treaty  of,  551 
Ti'mon,  the  misanthrope,  loi 
Timur  (te  moor'),  Mongol  conqueror, 

325 
Ti'ryns,  53 
Titian  (tish'an),  368 
Titus,  Roman  emperor,  209 
Tobacco,    introduced    into     Europe, 

426  n.  I 
Todleben  (tot'Iaben),  622 
To'go,  Japanese  admiral,  652  n.  i 
Toulon  (too  Ion'),  540 
Tournament  (toor'na  ment),  the,  296 
Tours  (toor),  battle  of,  273 
Towns,  mediaeval,  329-334.   See  Ilaii- 

seatic  Lea i; lie 
Townshend,  British  general,  692  n.  3 
Traf  al  giir',  naval  battle  of,  550 
Trajan,  Roman  emperor,  209 
Transmigration,  Hindu  doctrine  of,4S 
Trans-Siberian  Railway,  646 
Transvaal    (trans  val'),  the,   640 ;  be- 
comes Transvaal  Colony,  641 
Tran  syl  va'ni  a,  6S6 
Treitschke      (tritsh'ke).       Professor, 

quoted,  661  n.  i 
Trent,  Church  Council  of,  392 
Trentino  (trC-n  te'no)  ceded   to  Italy, 

709  n.  I 
Trianon  (tre  ri  noiV)  palace,  706 
Tri  bd'ni  an,  Roman  jurist,  238 
Trib'unes,  plebeian,  first,  160 
Trieste  (tre  est'),  ceded  to  Italy,  709 

n.  I 
Triple  Alliance,  of  18S2,  61 5,  616  n.  i 
Triple  Entente  (oh  toiit'),  the,  667 
Trip'6  IT,  seized  by  Italy,  673 
Triumph,  last,  at  Rome,  225 
Triumvirate,  F"irst,  190;   Second,  196 
Trojan  War,  legend  of,  60 
Trou'ba  dours,  the,  354 
Trouveurs  (troo  vCr'),  the,  354 
Troyes  (trwri).  Treaty  of,  347  n.  i 
Tudor,  House  of,  407  n.  i 
Tuileries  (twe'le  riz),  527 
Tunis,  P'rench  protectorate,  643 
Turanians.    See  Mont^ols  and  Turks 
Turgot  (tiir  go'),  517 


Turks,  Ottoman,  beginnings  of  their 
empire,  327  ;  their  conquests,  327 
wars  with  Russia  (1828-1829),  620 
(1853-1856),  621  ;  (i877-i878),622 
revolution  of  1908,  67  i  ;  empire  dis- 
membered, 709  n.  I 

Turks,    Seljuk  (seljook'),  309 

Twelve  Tables,  the,  1 62-1 64 

Tyne  (tin),  the,  210 

Ty'phon,  19 

Tyrants,  the  Greek  Age  of,  77,  78 

Tyre,  39 

Uitlanders  (oit'land  erz),  640 

Ukraine  (u'kran),  692 

Ulm  (oolm),  549 

Umbria,  146 

Uniformity,  Act  of,  under  Edward  VI, 
418;  under  Elizabeth,  421 

I'nited  Provinces.    See  .Xctherlniuls 

United  States,  independence  of,  507  ; 
expansion  of,  647  ;  purchases  Dan- 
ish West  Indian  islands.  647  n.  i  ; 
enters  the  World  War,  689  ;  prepa- 
rations during  1917,691  ;  her  effort 
in  19 1 8,  696-701 

I'niversities.  335-337.    See  Schoolmen 

Utrecht  (u'trekt).  Treaty  of  (1579), 
431;  (I7i3)'45'*^ 

Valens,  Roman  emperor,  222  n.  i 

Val  en  tin'i  an  I,  Roman  emperor,  222 
n.  I 

Valladolid  (val  y;i  thf)  leth'),  429 

\'almy  (viil  me'),  battle  of,  528 

Valois  (val  wa').  House  of,  435  n.  r  ; 
history  of  France  under,  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  435-438 

^'andals,  kingdom  of  the,  in  Spain, 
227;  in  Africa,  227;  sack  Rome, 
230;  destroyed  by  Helisarius,  251 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  473 

Vaudois  (vo  dwa'),  402 

Vedas  (ve'daz  crva'daz),  sacred  books 
of  the  Hindus,  48 

Veil  (ve'yl),  166 

\'endce  (von  da'),  I-a,  529 

Ve  nc'tia,  ceded  to  y\ustria,  539; 
joined  to  Napoleon's  kingdom  of 
Italy,  549 ;  becomes  jiart  of  the 
new  kingdom  of  Italy  (1866),  600 

Venice,  its  beginnings,  229;  takes  part 
in  Fourth  Crusade,  312  ;  sketch  of 
history,  332 


INDEX 


XXXIU 


Ver  diih',  Treaty    of,    2S0;     (German 

siege  of  (1916),  6S5 
Vergil,  203,  235  _ 
Versailles    (versalz';    Fr.   pron.   ver- 

say'),    palace    of,    459;     Treaty    of 

(1919),  705-710 
Vesle  (val),  river,  699 
Vespasian     (ves  pa'zhi  an),     Flavius, 

Roman  emperor,  20S 
Vesta,  worship  of,  at  Rome,  155 
ITa  Ap'pia,  construction  begun,  169 
Victor  Emmanuel  I,  king  of  Sardinia, 

594 
Victor  Emmanuel  1 1,  king  of  Italy,  597 
Victor  Emmanuel  III,  601  n.  i 
Vienna  (vi  en'a),  Congress  of,  566-570 
Villafranca  (vel  la  frang'ka),  Peace  of, 

599 
Villain.    See  Serjs 
Vimy  (ve  me')  Ridge,  702 
Vin  do  bo'na,  212 
Vinland,  283 

Virginia,  origin  of  name,  426 
Vis'i  goths,    cross  the  Danube,    222; 

reduced  to    submission   by   Theo- 

dosius,    223;     invade    Italy,    225; 

second    invasion,    226;     establish 

kingdom  in  Spain,  251 
Vladivostok  (vlii  de  vos  tok'),  646 
Volscians  (vol'shT  anz),  161 
Voltaire  (vol  ter'),  499,  515 

Wagram  (vii'gram),  battle  of,  554 
Wal  den'ses,  401 
Wallachia  (vvo  la'ki  a),  621 
Wallenstein  (wol'en  stln  ;   Ger.  pron. 

val'len  shtin),  443,  444 
Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  503 
Warsaw,  Grand  Duchy  of,  formed,  551 
Wartburg  (vart'bobrk),  Luther  at,  389 
Waterloo,  battle  of,  563 
Watt,  James,  509 
Wed'mdre,  Treaty  of,  284 
Wellesley,  .Sir  .\rlhur.   .See  IVellingtou 
Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke 

of,  in  Portugal,  554 ;  at  Waterloo,  563 
Wentvvorth,  Thomas.    See  Strafford 
Weser  (va'zcr),  river,  446 
Wesley,  Charles,  504 
Wesley,  John,  504 
Western  I'.mpire  (Teutonic).  See  Ciuir- 

lemai^iic   and   llolv   Roniaii    /■'.inpin- 
Westphalia,  Peace  of,  445;    kingdom 

of,  552 


Whitefield  (hwit'feld),  George,  504 

Wilberforce,  William,  508 

William  I,  the  Conqueror,  king  of 
England,  299-301 

William  III,  481,  482 

William  I,  the  Silent,  stadtholder,  430 

William  I,  German  Emperor,  afi  king 
of  Prussia,  608;  Emperor,  613; 
death,  616 

William  II,  accession,  616;  utterances 
of,  664 ;  extradition  of,  demanded 
of  Holland  by  the  Allies,  70S  n.  2 

Wilson,  President,  address  to  Con- 
gress (April  2,  1917),  689 

Windmills,  introduced  into  Europe 
by  C!rusades,  316 

Win'frid,  apostle  of  Germany,  256 

Wisby  (wiz'bi),  331 

Wit'an,  the.  299  n.  i 

Wit'e  na  ge  mot.    .See  U'itan 

W5'den,  German  god,  255 

Wolfe,  James,  505 

Wolsey  (woorzi).  Cardinal,  410,  412 

Woman,  social  position  of.  in  Greece, 
143  ;  at  Rome,  239 

Worcester  (wooster),  battle  of,  474 

World  War,  the,  661-7 11 

Worms  (vorms),  Concordat  of,  308 ; 
Diet  of,  388 

Writing,  invention  of,  9-1 1  ;  Egj'ptian 
system,  iS;  Chinese,  49 

Wiirtemberg  (viir'tem  berk),  king- 
dom of,  549 

Wycliffe  (wik'lTf),  John,  351 

Xavier  (zav'i  er),  Francis,  396 
Xen'o  phon,  106,  132 
Xerxes    (zerk'sez)    I,    44;      invades 
Greece,  88 

^'oke,  symbol  of  submission,  162  n.  i 
York,    House    of.     See   Roses,    Wars 

of  the 
Ypres  (e'pr),  first  battle  of.  680  n.  1  ; 

second,  701 
'N'uste  (yoos't.T).  403 

Z.^'ma,  battle  at,  176 

/.end-.\  vesta.  45 

/.C'no,  the  .Stoic,  138 

Zeus  (zus),  64 

Zfi'dT  ac,  29 

Zorndorf  (tsorn'dorf),  battle  of,  497 

Z6  ro  aster,  45 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 


TEXTBOOKS  ON  HISTORY 

FOR  HIGHER  SCHOOLS  AISJD   COLLEGES 

By  Philip  \'an  Ness  Myers,  Honorary  Lecturer  in  Historj' at  the 
University  of  Cincinnati 


General  History  (Second  Revised  Edition) 

Volume  I 

Volume  II 
Ancient  History  (Second  Revised  Edition) 
Eastern  Nations  and  Greece  (Second  Revised  Edition) 
History  of  Rome  (Second  Revised  Edition) 
Rome  :  Its  Rise  and  Fall 

Mediaeval  and  Modern  History  (Second  Revised  Edition) 
Outlines  of  Nineteenth  Century  History 


Myers's  Histories  have  an  international  reputation.  They 
have  been  translated  into  many  of  the  languages  of  Europe 
and  into  Chinese  and  Japanese  as  well. 

Admirers  of  Professor  Myers's  work  will  be  interested  in 
knowing  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  King  Albert  of 
Belgium  to  Cincinnati  in  October,  1919,  Professor  Myers  was 
decorated  with  the  Order  of  King  Albert  in  recognition  of  his 
services  to  Belgium  during  the  World  War. 

The  author  sees  the  world's  history  from  every  side,  —  social, 
political,  literary,  intellectual,  and  religious.  The  great  move- 
ments of  civilization  are  clearly  before  him  in  their  due  order 
and  relative  importance.  No  single  topic  or  period  receives 
more  attention  than  its  worth  to  the  world  justifies.  This  sense  of 
proportion  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  books  which  attempt 
to  cover  such  sweeps  of  time  and  i)n)l()ngcd  activities. 


GINN  AND   COMPANY   Pi.blishkrs 


LEADBETTER'S 
OUTLINES  AND   STUDIES 

By  Florence  E.  Leadbetter 
Principal  of  the  Trade  School  for  Girls,  Boston 


Outlines  and  Studies  to  Accompany  Myers's  "Ancient  History" 
8vo,  boards,  146  pages,  with  16  pages  of  outline  maps 

Outlines  and  Studies  to  Accompany  Myers's  "General  History" 
8vo,  boards,  144  pages,  with  16  pages  of  outline  maps 

Outlines  and  Studies  to  Accompany  Myers's  "Medieval  and 
Modern  History" 
8vo,  boards,  162  pages,  with  16  pages  of  outline  maps 


THESE  manuals  were  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  train 
ing  high-school  students  of  history  to  work  independently 
and  with  a  definite  aim.  They  have  proved  of  great  practical 
value  to  teachers  who  wish  their  pupils  to  be  able  to  use  books 
intelligently  and  to  gain  power  of  expression. 

The  topical  outlines  follow  the  order  of  Myers's  histories, 
but  may  be  used  in  connection  with  any  textbook  covering 
the  same  periods.  They  help  the  student  to  think  logically 
and  to  appreciate  the  relations  of  cause  and  effect.  The 
"  Studies  "  open  up  trails  farther  afield  and  add  interest  to 
individual  study  and  class  discussion. 

The  outline  maps  added  since  the  first  edition  will  greatl> 
increase  the  usefulness  of  the  series. 


io7>i 

GINN   AND   COMPANY   Publishers 


AN    AMERICAN    HISTORY    IN    THE 
SPIRIT  OF  TODAY 

The  Revised  Edition  of  Muzzey's  "  American  History "  is  of  im- 
portance in  that  it  marks  tlie  bringing  to  date  of  a  book  which  for  a 
number  of  years  has  been  more  widely  used  than  any  other  American 
history  for  high-school  and  college  classes.  It  is  the  product  of  that 
rare  combination  of  qualities,  —  sound  scholarship,  a  discriminating 
sense  of  historical  value  and  proportion,  and  a  strong,  vivid  style  that 
makes  history  as  interesting  as  a  storybook.  It  presents  the  facts  of 
our  history  in  a  lively  and  continuous  narrative  without  prejudice  or 
favor,  and  it  is  distinctly  modern  in  tone  and  outlook. 

Features  of  this  book  are  its  emphasis  on  the  westward-moving 
frontier  as  the  most  constant  and  potent  force  in  our  history  and 
the  unusually  large  amount  of  space  devoted  to  the  history  of  our 
country  since  the  Civil  War.  Special  emphasis  is  placed  on  political 
development  and  on  those  factors  in  our  national  growth  which  are 
most  vital  from  the  standpoint  of  today. 

Professor  Muzzey  shows  in  the  trends  of  yesterday  the  early  devel- 
opment of  our  national  problems  of  today.  The  events  of  the  World 
War  and  the  period  since  the  armistice  are  treated  with  the  author's 
usual  keen  sense  of  proportion.    The  text  is  brought  down  to  1920. 

By  DAVID  SAVILLE  MUZZEY,  Columbia  University 
X  -f-  537  -f  xlvi  pages,  illustrated. 


READINGS    IN   AMERICAN   HISTORY 

One  hundred  and  twenty-four  selections,  comprising  extracts  from 
state  papers,  private  journals  and  letters,  and  early  chronicles,  the 
speeches  and  writings  of  public  men,  and  newspaper  narrative  and 
comment.  A  unique  feature  is  the  frequent  presentation  of  several 
extracts  on  a  single  topic. 

Edited  by  DAVID  S.WILLE  MUZZEY 
Revised  Edition,  xxvii  )  604  pages. 


GINN    AND   COMPANY   Publishers 


REFERENCE  BOOKS  IN 
HISTORY 

Abbott:  Roman  Political  Institutions 

Asser:  Life  of  King  Alfred 

lirigham :   From  Trail  to  Railway  through  the  Appalachians 

Hrigham  :  Geographic  Influences  in  American  History 

Callender:  Economic  History  of  the  United  States,  1765-1860 

Cannon:  Reading  References  for  English  History 

Channing,  Hart,  and  Turner:  (luide  to  the  Study  and  Reading  of 

American  History  (Revised  and  Augmented  Edition) 
Cheyney  :  Readings  in  English  History 
Dealey :  Growth  of  American  State  Constitutions 
Hayes  :  British  Social  Politics 
Keller :  Colonization 

Muzzey  :    Readings  in  American  History  (Revised  Edition) 
Myers:  History  as  Past  Ethics 
Priest:  Germany  since  1740 

Reinsch  :   Readings  on  American  Federal  Government 
Reinsch  :   Readings  on  American  State  Ci9vernment 
Richardson,    Ford,    Durfee,    and    Lutz :    Syllabus    of   Continental 

European  History  (Revised  Edition) 
Robinson  :  Readings  in  European  History,  Volume  I 

Volume  II 

Abridged  Edition 
Robinson  and  Heard:   Readings  in  Modern  European  History 

Volume  I 

Volume  II 
Thallon:   Readings  in  Greek  History 
Tucll  and  Hatch  :   Selected  Readings  in  English  History 
Webster:   General  History  of  Commerce  (Revised  Edition) 


GINN  AND   COMPANY   Publishers 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


1989 


l±i 


IdBO 


L 


ENEWAL 
UOURL 


febu 

FEB  14 


FECD  LO-URI 

NOV  19i9fK 


J/VN20  19f.9        REc-o  LD-uRrgJogg  fago-jo 


M 


JAN  2 1  W80 


ORION       , 
LD/URU    *** 


RENDNAL    «rp     91988 


QL 

JAM 


OL  4PR  1  9 198? 
1 5 1990 


JAN  2  3199) 


«• 


^L  OCT  0^U?90 


0»S 


7  1991 


Form  L9-32m-8, '58(587684)444 


D 
21 

M99g 
1921 


«f 


3  1158  00525  7158 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

iiiiii'iinF 


AA    001  264  520    6 


